A networking event for female, trans*, inter* and non-binary scientists.
Sofia Kirke Forslund-Startceva trained as a molecular biotechnologist and bioinformatician in her native Sweden where she also did her PhD in evolutionary bioinformatics, expanding into microbiome data analysis during her post-doc years at EMBL Heidelberg. Working particularly on health associations of the gut microbiome, its interactions with medications and on the propagation of antibiotic resistance genes, Sofia took up a junior group leader position at the MDC in Berlin in 2018, with her Host-Microbiome Factors in Cardiovascular Disease lab based at the Experimental and Clinical Research Centre (ECRC) as an interface surface with Universitätsmedizin Charité. In 2023 Sofia was tenured Professor for Applied Microbiology with the Charité and as senior guest group
leader with the MDC, as well as DZHK PI and collaborates widely within the Berlin research ecosystem as well as elsewhere within Germany and internationally. Her interest in DEI work in institutions reflect both her feminist convictions and her experiences as a neurodivergent LGBTQ++ individual living in nontraditional relationships.
Sofia used to post on social media as @inanna_nalytica but now mostly do not, waiting for gentler, more inclusive such platforms to reemerge. She anticipates this event as an opportunity to speak openly and in some confidence of both joyful and painful experiences as they have interacted with her career path and influenced her choices.
All information can be found on our Poster.