Josephine was born and raised in Albstadt – a small city in the middle of the Suabian Alb in Germany. To be closer to the Alps, she moved for her studies to the nice city of Ulm. In 2012, she graduated in Biology and Chemistry at the University of Ulm where she worked on the “Stability of multifunctional mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles under physiological relevant conditions” for her graduation thesis. This research project was accomplished at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry II, Ulm University, under the supervision of Mika Lindén.

The main focus of her work was on quasi-dissolution-kinetics of the synthesized particles in simulated body fluid. For the intravenous application of the nanoparticles as “drug-delivery vehicle” to target cancer cells, she implemented a hemolysis assay which exhibited high biocompatibility and low toxicity of the particles towards RBCs (red human blood cells).
Josephine joined the NANODRUG Network in October 2012 as a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher and enrolled in the BEB PhD Program at the University of Coimbra under the supervision of Dr Lino Ferreira at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) in cooperation with Biocant. The thesis will focus on the evaluation of the biological impact of nanoparticles in cell models and on the characterization of the intracellular delivery of bioactive components by nanoparticles to modulate cell activity.
In her spare time, Josephine enjoys “open-air” activities such as hiking in the mountains, likes to do contemporary dance or reading books.