2. Careers Committee

Mission & Goals of the Careers Committee


The mission of the Careers Committee is to actively support Early Stage Investigators (ESIs) within TRR332, including doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers. As the TRR332 initiative currently does not include an integrated training programme (IRTG), the TRR332 team has put together these guidelines and programs to support doctoral researchers and early career postdocs in their work within the initiative. The corresponding documents can be downloaded from the internal section of the website.

 

Early career training within TRR332 is mainly organized locally at the partner institutions. In addition, consortium-wide measures coordinated by the Careers Committee and Early Career Representatives support exchange, address challenges, and organize joint activities such as the autumn school and annual retreats.

Each doctoral candidate is supervised by a TRR332 PI and supported by a Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) consisting of the supervisor and additional internal or external experts. The TAC monitors scientific progress, defines milestones, and provides guidance on career development and networking.

Lab rotations are supported on an individual basis and allow doctoral candidates to gain new methodological skills and insights into different research environments. Rotations are organized in consultation with the supervisor and host laboratory.

Annual Early Stage Investigator Retreats


TRR332 organizes annual ESI Retreats to foster scientific exchange, feedback, and networking. The retreats combine technical and methodological training with team building, mentoring, and sessions on overarching topics like good scientific practice, scientific communication, and mental health.
 

Young Investigator Award


To further support independent research by Early Stage Investigators, TRR332 offers a Young Investigator Award, funded from the consortium’s lump sum budget in accordance with the grant proposal. All proposals are reviewed by the Early Career Committee.

 

TRR332 ESIs (Doctoral Candidates & PostDocs) as first authors:
 

  • Richter, M.: Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury in Neonatal Mice Sequentially Recruits Neutrophils with Dichotomous Phenotype and Function; 2025 Nat. Commun.  A2  A5  C6  Z1
  • Spangenberg, P.: msiFlow: automated workflows for reproducible and scalable multimodal mass spectrometry imaging and microscopy data analysis; 2025 Nat Commun  A2  A3  C6  Z1
  • Bader, A.: SCAMP3 Is Essential for Proper Formation and Function of Neutrophil Granules; 2025 J Leukoc Biol  A3  C3  Z1
  • Pylaeva, E.: G-CSF/NAMPT Signaling Drives Neutrophil Dysfunction and Enhances Bacterial Infection Susceptibility in Cancer Patients; 2025 Nat Commun  A3  A5  C2  Z1
  • Nussbaumer, K.: Posttranslational Sialylation and Its Impact on Neutrophil Recruitment; 2025 J Leukoc Biol  C2
  • Hageb, A.: Ontogenetic Drivers of Neutrophil Heterogeneity; 2025 Exp Hematol  A1
  • Heming, J.-N.: CD45 and CD148 Are Critically Involved in Neutrophil Recruitment and Function During Inflammatory Arthritis in Mice; 2025 Cells  A2  C1 
  • Thomas, K.: Alveolar Epithelial and Vascular CXCR2 Mediates Transcytosis of CXCL1 in Inflamed Lungs; 2025 Nat Commun  B5  C1
  • Pylaeva, E.: Sellhi neutrophils: a key to triumph in cancer therapy; 2023 Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy  A5
  • Spangenberg, P.: Rapid and Fully Automated Blood Vasculature Analysis in 3D Light-Sheet Image Volumes of Different Organs, 2023 Cell Reports Methods  A3  C5  C6  Z1
  • Bessler, S.: Visualization of Differential Cardiolipin Profiles in Murine Retinal Cell Layers by High-Resolution MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging; 2023 Anal. Chem.  Z1
  • Pylaeva, E.: During Early Stages of Cancer, Neutrophils Initiate Anti-Tumor Immune Responses in Tumor-Draining Lymph Nodes; 2022 Cell Reports  A5  C6
  • Kalafati, L.: The Role of Neutrophils in Trained Immunity; 2022 Immunol Rev  B4
  • Widera, L.: TSP1/TGF-ß1 drives arachidonic acid metabolism to orchestrate neutrophil swarming; bioRxiv  A2  A3  A5  B4  B6  C5  C6  Z1


 

Paper of the Year Award


Each year, the Scientific Advisory Board selects a Paper of the Year, awarded at the annual retreat. Eligible publications must be original research articles, involve collaboration between at least two TRR332 projects, and list a TRR332 ESI as first author.