Team


Members

Simon Pöpsel
Group Leader
The complexity of life and its beauty at the molecular level leaves me with wonder and admiration over and over again. Doing science is a great privilege and we all shall practice with optimism, humility and happiness!

Egor Pavlenko
PostDoc
E-Mailepavlenk[at]uni-koeln.de

Juliane Renn
Technical Assistant / Lab Manager
I was born and raised in Cologne. I was trained as a biology lab technician at the Caesar Research Center in Bonn, Germany. I am hungry for new experiences and skills both in science as well as outside the lab. Among my many hobbies, I spend most time dancing in a karneval society, blacksmithing and paragliding.

Linda Zirden
PhD Student
After completing my Bachelor and Master studies in Biochemistry at the University of Cologne and a 1.5 year research stay in Montréal (Canada), I am glad that I found my way to Simon’s lab for my PhD. I am driven by a deep fascination for the complex mechanisms of life. Even though I have fun working on very specific research questions, I always appreciate the beauty of the big picture. I am grateful that I now have the opportunity to gain more knowledge in the fascinating fields of epigenetics and structural biology and their involvement in health and disease – especially cancer. Outside the lab I love to meet friends, travel and do things that offer me new perspectives.

Till Rüngeler
PhD Student
I like tea, mushrooms and structural biology

Fabian Basler
PhD Student
I would like to say that I chose to dedicate my life to science, but in all honesty, sometimes I think it is more accurate to say that science just captivated me. During my bachelor's studies in Biochemistry at the University of Cologne, I realized just how fulfilling working in the laboratory is. Researching how proteins, those brilliant little molecular machines, work and studying how "life" works on the molecular level leaves me in awe again and again. I am currently deepening my knowledge and understanding of the world during my Biochemistry Master's studies, striving to become an even better scientist each and every day.

David Ziegler
Student Research Assistant

Lisa Horn
B.Sc. Student
Lab Activities and Fun
Lab Outing May 2023 – Canoeing on the river Ruhr









Lab Retreat 2023 – Unkel



EMBL Conference Chromatin & Epigenetics 2023


NRW Structural Biology Meeting - Sundern 2023




Lab Alumni
| Christian Sommereisen | PhD Student | Sep 2019 - June 2025 | ||
| Jignesh Aghav | Student Research Assistant | Nov 2024 - April 2025 | ||
| Josephine Siefke | B.Sc. Lab Module | Sep - Nov 2024 | ||
| Panagiota (Naya) Fratzi | Student Research Assistant | July - Oct 2024 | ||
| Florentin Bardehle | B.Sc. Student | April - Sep 2024 | ||
| Clara Ludwig | M.Sc. Rotation Student and M.Sc. Thesis | April 2022 - Nov 2023 | ||
| David Ziegler | M.Sc. Rotation and Thesis Student | May - Sep 2023, May 2024 - May 2025 | ||
| Tim Richter | M.Sc. Rotation Student | Oct 2022 - Mar 2023 | ||
| Tim Vanselow | M.Sc. Rotation Student | Apr - May 2022 | ||
| Paulina Engel | B.Sc. Student | Jun - Nov 2021 | M.Sc. Student (shared with Walczak) | July 2023 - Sep 2024 |
| Patrizia Nothnagel | M.Sc. Rotation Student | Aug - Oct 2021 | ||
| Fabian Basler | M.Sc. Rotation Student and M.Sc. Thesis | Aug - Oct 2021 and Mar 2022 - Jan 2023 | ||
| Ahad Ali Kazmi | M.Sc. Rotation Student | Jan - Mar 2021 | ||
| Dhriti Arora | M.Sc. Rotation Student | Feb - Apr 2020 |



