// completed her undergraduate and doctoral studies in nonlinear optics at TU Darmstadt // Following periods of research in France (Paris), the USA and Australia, she has been a professor in the WWU’s Institute of Applied Physics since 2001 and became its Director in 2003 // She has been Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Junior Academics at WWU since 2010 // Her research interests cover various aspects of photonics, including optical information processing, nanophotonics and biophotonics // She has published over 190 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and is the author of 3 books and numerous book chapters // She was awarded the State of Hesse’s Lise Meitner Prize in 1993 and the Adolf-Messer Prize in 1999 // She was voted Professor of the Year by the Unicum student magazine in 2012 // She is a Fellow of the European (EOS) and American (OSA) Optical Societies and a Board member of the German Branch of the European Optical Society (DGAO)

is a state-certified food chemist. After studying food chemistry at the University of Bonn, she was appointed lead researcher for gas chromatography at LCI in 2010. Here, she is responsible for managing research activities within the BDSI research project “Minimization/Prevention of MOSH/MOAH in Confectionery and Savory Products”.

// is Head of the BSL-4 Containment Lab at Phillips University Marburg // His fields of research include biology and the diagnosis of high consequence viruses

// born in 1939, studied physical chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz // After his doctorate, he increasingly focused on medical diagnosis and took over management of the neurology lab of the university clinic in Göttingen, before entering the diagnosis section of ­F. Hoffmann-­­La Roche in Basel, which was then under develop­ment // He was responsible for the R&D-department of the diagnosis section with the wide product range of clinical chemistry, immunochemistry, microbiology, blood clotting and analysis automation there // After a reorganisation, he looked for new diagnostic parameters and determination methods outside of the ­department // Since his retirement, he has ­become a consultant for introduction and commercialisation of new diagnosis parameters and point-­of-care technologies

// born 1989, studied bio engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Aachen // After acquiring his Bachelor's degree, Prof. Reinhard Renneberg suggested him for the fast-track programme of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) for a directly subsequent PhD in chemistry. He was accepted // His interest is in nano particles for evidencing various reagents and their direct ­application // At the moment, his research is ­targeted at FDA nano crystals for various ­immune assays // Furthermore, his scientific ­interest has led to his activity in founding a start-up company spun off from the research group of Prof. Renneberg

// studied pharmacy before then obtaining her doctorate in pharmaceutical technology and biopharmacy from the Philipps University of Marburg in 1997 // After a period spent at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (USA), she gained several years' experience as Director of Preclinical Research & Development at Antisense Pharma GmbH before accepting a professorship in Pharmaceutical Technology at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in 2008 // Her work concentrates on the development of nanoparticulate carrier systems from natural and synthetic polymers with an especial focus on inflammation, infection and cancer

// studied food chemistry at Munich Technical University (TUM), ­receiving his doctoral degree in 1997 in ­molecular biology/protein chemistry // In 2003, he completed his habilitation in the departments of food chemistry and biochemistry // Director of the Institute for Food Chemistry at the University of Hamburg since 2006, he is the founder (2011) and Director of the ­Hamburg School for Food Science (HSFS) // Markus Fischer engages actively in many research organisations, examples including his positions on the Federal Institute for Risk ­Assessment (BfR) Scientific Advisory Board and Research Association of the German Food Industry (FEI) Scientific Committee and his role as German delegate to the European Food Chemistry Division

// studied pharmacy in Freiburg and has been a doctoral candidate since 2015 in the Prof. Katharina Zimmermann lab in the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Biberach University of Applied Sciences // His thesis topic is “The intranasal nose-to-brain transport mechanism and approaches for the controlled application of active ingredients by means of intranasal delivery”

// born in 1984, studied chemistry at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, ­ultimately obtaining a master's in polymer ­chemistry // Since 2009, he has worked in Prof. Shastri's lab at the University of Freiburg as part of his doctoral research into developing new 3D cell culture materials

studied chemistry and medicine at the University of Freiburg. After obtaining his doctorate in biochemistry in 1986, he completed his habilitation in experimental medicine in 1993. Following a postdoc position at UniversityHospital Zurich, he then joined the Drug Delivery System department at Sandoz AG in Basel in 1988. In 1995, he accepted a position at the Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy at the University of Heidelberg. Appointed Director of the new Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology in 2002, he is also managing director of the Heidelberg-based Steinbeis Technology Transfer Centre Biopharmacy and Analytics. His research interests include membrane transport processes, innovative dosage forms and API transport through the blood-brain barrier.

// completed apprenticeship as a brewer and maltster, supplementing this with a degree in brewing and beverage technology at Technische Universität München, where she also completed her doctoral studies // She is ­currently completing her habilitation in this ­discipline // She worked as a research assistant from 2002 and has also held the post of laboratory manager // She has been the principal investigator for raw material technology in the Chair of Brewing and Beverage Technology since 2009

(right) // studied brewing and beverage technology at TUM // Joining the Chair of Brewing and Beverage Technology (TUM) in 2012, he has since worked on the impact of Fusarium contamination on the quality characteristics of brewing cereals

// studied Pharmacy at the University of Würzburg and obtained a Ph.D. (summa cum laude) in Pharmaceutical Biology at the University of Munich in 1993 // ­She has worked as a postdoc and research assistant professor in the area of cancer chemoprevention with Prof. J.M. Pezzuto at The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA from 1993 to 1996, funded through a Feodor-Lynen Fellowship awarded by the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Foundation // In 1996, she joined the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg and currently heads the group Cancer Chemoprevention and Epigenomics // Her major research interest is the investigation of molecular mechanisms associated with breast and prostate cancer, with a strong focus on epigenetic mechanisms // In 2003, she was awarded with the European Association of Cancer Research (EACR) Young Cancer Researcher Award Highly Commended and the Phoenix Pharmacy Scientific Research Price for ‘Pharmaceutical Biology’ // has authored more than 90 research articles, reviews and book chapters and holds four patents // Also, she has co-edited a comprehensive reference book on ‘Chemoprevention of Cancer and DNA damage by dietary factors’ (Wiley Press, 2009)

//born 1955, studied chemistry and biochemistry in Nijmegen and Utrecht, acquiring a doctorate in 1983 // After a post-doctorate stay at the University of Wageningen he moved to the University of Maastricht in 1986, where he worked in the field of molecular medicine in conjunction with the lipid metabolism of the heart, in particular with the function and significance of fatty-acid-binding proteins // During this period he made the lucky discovery that the cyto­plasmatic protein FABP is a biomarker for myocardial infarction. Glatz is Professor of Cardiac Metabolism at the Cardiovascular Research ­Institute of Maastricht (CARIM), University of Maastricht, Netherlands // His present research work is focuses on membrane substrate transporters and diseases of the cardiac metabolism.

Prof. Stanislav N. Gorb and his team, working on projects about plant-insect interactions, visit the Nepenthes collection in the greenhouse of the Botanical Garden at the Kiel University. From left to right: Martina Baum, Elena Gorb (front row), Julia Purtov, Stanislav Gorb, Nadine Jacky (back row). The research conducted by Stanislav Gorb and his department is mainly focused on various biological surfaces specialized for enhancement or reduction of friction and adhesion. “Plant“ group examines the effect of different structures occurring on a plant surface on attachment ability of insects. Emphasis is on surfaces exhibiting anti-adhesive properties, such as surfaces covered with three-dimensional epicuticular waxes. Carnivorous plants from the genus Nepenthes with a range of insect- related surfaces are among model plants. The group of Martin Steinhart deals with mesoscopic structure design of low-dimensional systems. Using self-ordered anodic aluminum oxide as inorganic model matrix, dynamics and elastic properties of soft matter, crystallization of pharmaceuticals and microphase separation of block copolymers in nanopores are studied, often in collaboration with other groups. Moreover, functional nanostructured and microstructured surfaces consisting of block copolymers, nanorod arrays and microsphere arrays are prepared and investigated. Examples include patterned polymeric surfaces with specific adhesive properties and nanorod arrays used as sensor elements, substrates for tissue engineering and imprint moulds.