Pauline studied Life Sciences at the University of Heidelberg. She then pursued a Master’s degree in neurobiology at the University of Tübingen. In 2018, Pauline started her PhD in the field of molecular neurobiology at the NMI in Reutlingen. Her doctoral thesis focused on the receptor tyrosine kinase Met as an autism spectrum disorder risk factor, which regulates the organisation of inhibitory synapses through mTOR activation.
Alongside her scientific research, Pauline has always enjoyed making complex scientific concepts accessible to the general public.

This passion led her to join the press and public relations department at NMI shortly after completing her PhD, where she combined her scientific knowledge with journalism.

Pauline gained experience in marketing through the ‘THE LÄND‘ campaign for the state of Baden-Württemberg, as well as in corporate communications within an industrial setting.

In 2025 she joined as PostDoc in the the 3R-Center for In Vitro Models and Animal Testing Alternatives.

Hanna was majoring in genetics in her Master’s studies in University of Oulu, Finland. She moved to Tampere University to do her MSc thesis and continued as a PhD researcher in the Finnish Centre for Alternative Methods.

As a PhD researcher, she worked in a GLP (Good Laboratory Practise) laboratory and participated to validation of a vascular model. Additionally, she was a visiting scientist in EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM, Ispra, Italy) in autumn 2015. Hanna received her PhD degree in cell biology in 2016 focusing on development of cardiovascular in vitro models. After her PhD, Hanna worked for a while in pharmaceutical and in bioscience companies in Finland.

In 2018-2025, she worked as a Post doctoral Research Fellow and as vice-PI of Prof. Susanna Miettinen in the Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research in Tampere University, Finland. The consortium, composed of six research groups with expertise in cell biology, nano- and microtechnology, imaging and biomaterials, focused on developing complex Organ-on-Chip platforms.

Hanna joined µOrganoLab in August 2025 as a Postdoctoral fellow focusing on pre-validation and training of Organ-on-Chips in an EU project. She works closely with project stakeholders such as pharmaceutical companies to boost the industrial use Organ-on-Chips as Novel Approach Methodologies (NAMs).

Fulya received her bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering from Ege University, where she developed an early interest in biomedical technologies. During this time, she spent six months as a visiting scholar at the University of Connecticut, gaining hands-on experience in microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip systems.

After returning to Turkey, she worked as a research scholar at Ege University, focusing on 3D imaging of spinal cord injuries. She completed her master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences in May 2018, with a thesis on 3D compartmentalized co-culturing using UV lithography. In the same year, she was awarded a prestigious Ph.D. scholarship by the Turkish Ministry of Education. 

Driven by her strong interest in neuroscience and microfluidic systems, she pursued her doctoral studies at the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute, affiliated with the University of Tübingen. She joined the MicroOrgano Lab in June 2021, where her research focused on the development and fabrication of 3D neuro-microphysiological systems for disease modeling.

Following her Ph.D., Fulya now works as a postdoctoral researcher, where she supports the 3R-Center and plays a key role in the STEP4NAMs project. In addition to her scientific contributions, she takes on a wide range of organizational and coordination responsibilities.

Marlene studied Biomedical Sciences at the University of Reutlingen. During her studies, she focused on biomaterials and their interaction with the immune system. Her interest in immunology led her to pursue a Master’s degree in Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology at the University of Tübingen.

In 2024, Marlene started as an intern in the µOrganoLab and continued as a master student. She completed her thesis on tissue engineering a Liver-on-Chip model for mechanistic hepatotoxicity studies. In September 2025, she joined the 3R-Center Tübingen as part of the STEP4NAMs project to promote and accelerate the adoption of Novel Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in biomedical research.