The Obenauf Lab has expanded by four new PhD students: Sofia, Lisi, Jakob and Lisa (from left to right).

Sofia Moysiadou obtained her Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at Utrecht University. She studied in the Cancer, Stem cells and Developmental Biology programme, and successfully conducted her thesis work in the Obenauf Lab. Originally from Thessaloniki (Greece), Sofia is officially starting her PhD in Vienna in April 2024.  She wants to focus on understanding the emergence and evolution of ‘cancer persister cells’ during therapy challenge.  

Lisi Pottendorfer started her PhD in October 2023. Lisi grew up close to Vienna, were she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology. She then moved to the Netherlands to study Biomedical Sciences with a focus on Oncology at the University of Amsterdam. In her PhD, she will explore the relation between therapy resistance and metastasis in melanoma and lung cancer.

Jakob Grünewald, holds a Master’s degree in Molecular Medicine from the Medical University of Innsbruck. While he grew up in Innsbruck, Jakob moved to Vienna to conduct his master’s thesis in the Obenauf Lab. Since June 2023 he is continuing as a PhD student in the lab, exploring mechanisms of immune evasion and antigen presentation.

Lisa Frasz joined the Obenauf Lab in March 2024. A native Viennese, she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Vienna. For her PhD she wants to unravel the intricate interplay between obesity, cancer and the immune system, with a primary focus on elucidating the T cell dynamics within the tumour microenvironment.