Dresden International Graduate School for Interdisciplinary Life Sciences

Dr. Olya Vvedenskaya studied medicine specializing in medical biophysics in Moscow and worked on her MD thesis devoted to traumatic brain injury and mass spectrometry at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. She further did her PhD in Berlin, Germany working on a multi-omics approach to research of liver cancer and precancerous conditions. She continued her work in translational medicine and mass spectrometry in Dresden, working as a postdoc in MPI-CBG. Currently, she works in scientific communication at Lipotype, focusing on scientific outreach, marketing strategy, content creation, and community engagement strategies.

Additionally, to her main job, Olya devotes her time to academic mental health advocacy and community support. She co-founded Dragonfly Mental Health (2019) and Sci.STEPS mentorship program for scientists (2022).

Luke is a Partner and European Patent Attorney at HERTIN & Partner, Berlin. Luke provides advice on all aspects of European and international patent law, with a focus on the life sciences / biotechnology / pharmaceutical sectors. Luke received his accreditation from the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2012 and has experience in drafting patent applications, building and managing international patent portfolios, EPO opposition and appeal proceedings, and preparing patentability and freedom-to-operate opinions. After studying at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand (Biochemistry/Genetics, BSc. Hons) and industry research (Molecular Microbiology; AgResearch), Luke earned a PhD (Epigenetics) at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) and the Biotechnology Center of the TUD.

“As a trained experimentalist with a PhD in Physics, I have developed over the years a strong passion for data science and thrive in dynamic biotech environments. In the field of drug discovery, my interdisciplinary background enables me to tackle complex challenges (what I enjoy the most)—such as translating human pathology into screenable assays and using modern data science tools to interpret high-dimensional data. I also deeply enjoy the collaborative nature of start-ups, including the opportunity to shape teams and influence the business.

I’m very excited to share insights from my journey with you.”

Coralie Mansukoski is a seasoned leader in the pharmaceutical industry, leveraging a diverse range of roles and skills to drive early-stage drug development at AstraZeneca. Her career began after earning a PhD from Dresden University, starting as a drug safety lead at Pfizer, where she honed her expertise in drug evaluation. At PA Consulting, Coralie enhanced her strategic acumen, reshaping business analytics and governance for top pharma clients. In her current role as Director of Global Portfolio & Project Management at AstraZeneca, she plays a crucial role in the strategic and operational delivery of non-oncology therapies, guiding them from concept to clinical reality.

Svea Cheeseman completed her PhD at B CUBE Dresden in 2016. After navigating the challenging transition from academia to industry, she joined Sartorius in 2017 as a Junior Product Manager. Over four years, she gained diverse commercial experience across product management and sales roles in multiple countries. In 2021, her passion for biophysics drew her to a breakthrough technology called mass photometry. She joined Refeyn, a 45-person startup in Oxford, embarking on a high-speed journey as the company rapidly scaled into a global biotech with over 200 employees and multimillion-dollar revenues.

Cathie’s scientific journey began at National Taiwan University, and took her to the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany, where her PhD research was in the field of ribosome function and dynamics. She gained expertise in biochemistry, biophysics, and enzyme kinetics while constructing a full kinetic mechanism of alternative ribosome-rescue in bacteria, and became deeply interested in the process of transforming scientific research into real-life solutions that improve people’s health and quality of life.

Cathie has a strong analytical background, a track record of managing interdisciplinary projects, and is skilled in intercultural communication from many years of international experience and teamwork. At Scitaris, she leverages these strengths to build strong collaborative relationships with her clients and contribute to innovative and scientific decision-making in the pharmaceutical industry.

Data analyst with a master’s degree in medical biotechnology from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow (2009), a PhD in computational biology from Biotec, TU Dresden (2012, advisor: Prof. Andreas Beyer), and a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine (2013–2015). Her research focused on systems biology and systems medicine. Since 2015, Weronika has worked at Deloitte, Credit Suisse, and Citibank, developing computational tools to extract insights from data across various business domains, including consulting, internal audit, credit risk, and climate risk. She is currently a Regulatory Risk Senior Manager (VP) at Citibank.