On 1 September, we will welcome Janik Mutter as our new Trainee for Research.
Janik recently graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich with a Master of Science in Biology having a specialisation in Microbiology and Immunology. During his Master thesis, he genetically engineered bacteriophages to examine strategies which use these viruses specialised on bacteria in treating bacterial infections. This allowed him to get firsthand experience of academic research in the life sciences, which he wants to combine with his fascination and interest for politics to improve the working environment and conditions of researchers.
In between his Bachelor and Master studies he did an internship in the parliament of his home country Germany. This provided him the chance to experience how decision-making in a political system work behind the curtains. Especially while working in the context of the Enquete Commission for Artificial Intelligence, he observed how policy makers deal with complex and science driven topics.
Additionally, he was able to get first experiences in science communication during his internship at Higgs.ch an innovative online open access popular science magazine. Starting at Higgs.ch just at the beginning of the Corona pandemic, he was not only trained in researching and writing articles about cutting edge science covering Corona but also tracked the political decisions made based on it.
During his time at SwissCore, he will help the European Advisor for Research in day-to-day activities and will additionally focus on a dedicated project.