FACULTY OF

PROCESS- AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Dr. Bettenbrock studied Biology at the University of Osnabrück where she also finished her doctoral thesis in the field of microbial physiology and genetics. After a short stay at the University Hospital Ulm she joined the newly founded Max-Planck-Institute in Magdeburg in 1998 where she was working in the field of systems biology. Since 2007 she carries out independent research projects and since 2011 she is a team leader at the Max-Planck-Institute. Her research focus is on the interaction of metabolism and global control in E. coli and on the optimization of microorganisms for biotechnological applications. Since 2015 she has been the elected Ombudsman of the MPI.  Motto: -

Career

I’ve always been fascinated by Biology in general and Microbiology in particular. So, after graduating High School I immediately started studying Biology at the University Osnabrück. After receiving my diploma, I stayed in Osnabrück and did m doctoral research there. After finishing my doctorate, I had a position as a Postdoc at the university hospital Ulm. I then came to Magdeburg to work at the newly established MPI. After a while I got a permanent position and nowadays I work as a team leader.

Nowadays my work looks as following: In the mornings I check my emails. Often, I read academic literature to find a relationship to my own work and find new research ideas. Or I read Master or Bachelor theses. I write publications or scientific proposals and reports for research projects. Of course I talk to colleagues and students. I also often analyze experiments and plan new ones for myself and my staff members. If I have the time I still love going to the laboratory and experiment myself. 

Motivation

As I’ve mentioned already I’ve always been fascinated by biology. I still really enjoy experimenting in the laboratory. I work in the field of molecular biotechnology. Microorganisms, in my case bacteria are supposed to be used for the production of products that are interesting to us. To do that we modify the organisms in a targeted manner and search for the ideal growth conditions. To do that in a more goal-oriented way, we mainly try to gain a better understanding of bacterial regulation. We want to grasp how bacteria recognize their environment and react to it.

Requirements

I recommend my job to anyone that is interested in Biology. But of course an interest in the field isn’t enough, you also need to have perseverance, be able to handle critique and communicate well with others.

Advice

I really recommend you choose a field that you have a fiery passion for. I think networks that allow people to come into contact with scientists and mentors are a really big chance. I absolutely endorse them for all young (female) scientists. I sadly only gained contacts like that later in life. You should also take time to wisely choose your research topic(s) because it’s integral for career opportunities.

Challenges

There isn’t one correct answer how you should deal with adversity. Generally speaking I could solve the vast majority of my problems with a lot of time and hard work. But I also learned that you have to reset your own expectations sometimes, for example in the case of careers goals.

I think that I might have a better position today if I had been a man. In my surrounding I feel like men are sometimes more supported when it comes to career aspirations. The other thing is that if I had been male, I wouldn’t have worked part-time for such a long time after my daughter was born. I think it is crucially important that compatibility of a career and a family continues to improve. It has to be possible to take time to focus on your family and then be able to still hit the ground running when you come back full-time. Employments should also become more predictable. Young female scientists are important for research: a good mix of women and men enhances cooperation and helps create a good research atmosphere. Young women have to be shown that they are wanted and that their problems are valid.