What does it take to make academia a healthier place? For many researchers, the PhD journey is as much a personal transformation as it is an academic one. For Hanna Sänger and Dr. Kristin Vielberg, it became the starting point of a mission: to make this journey a healthier, more mindful one.

Maya Viswanathan’s journey from chemistry labs in Kerala, India, to co-founding Module Innovations is driven by passion, purpose, and personal experience.

From a 14-year-old student competing in science contests to leading EMUNO Therapeutics, Dr. Emilia Neuwirt has turned curiosity into therapies that could transform patient care.

Wolfgang Hinterdobler, CEO and Co-Founder of MyPilz, has spent his career uncovering the hidden powers of fungi — from their microscopic chemical exchanges to their potential as sustainable allies in agriculture, industry, and environmental restoration.

What happens when a scientist brings innovation out of academia and into the corporate world? Jonas Austerjost, a trained biotechnologist with a passion for IT and automation, shows how scientific curiosity and entrepreneurial thinking can thrive inside a company.

When Anne-Christin Bansleben began studying rhubarb as part of her academic research in nutritional science, she didn’t expect it to lead to a material innovation that would challenge the leather industry. Today, she’s the founder and managing director of deepmello – rhubarb technology GmbH, the company behind a plant-based tanning process using rhubarb roots.