The freedom written into the EU’s postdoc fellowship scheme promises to be even more attractive amid US turmoil
Photo credits: Lisa Juliane Kahl
Lisa Juliane Kahl is a postdoctoral researcher in biochemistry at the Charité in Berlin, one of the largest university hospitals in Europe. But her work on antibiotics is built on a doctoral thesis completed at Columbia University in New York in 2020.
Her decision to return to Europe after six years in the US was a complex one. “There were many reasons, family reasons and political reasons,” she told Science|Business. “At the time, Trump was still president and while it wasn't certain he would be re-elected, I didn't want to live there for another four years.”
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and her desire to return to Europe became even stronger. “I wanted to be closer to my family. That was important to me,” she said.
So, in 2020 Kahl moved to the Charité in Berlin, initially joining a nationally funded project that was already underway. She then applied for a European postdoctoral fellowship under the…
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