ORCiD: 0000-0002-6007-1164

Maja C Funk (she/her)

Position: Group Leader (DZL Early Career Investigator Group)

Maja obtained her PhD at the University of Freiburg, where she investigated epithelial homeostasis of the airway epithelium, particularly the differentiation process of multiciliated cells. After her PhD, Maja gained experience as a Medical Project Manager at the interface of e-health and clinical trials. To continue her research in a translational setting, she joined the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg in 2018 as a Postdoc. Here, she explored the ageing process of the intestinal epithelium at the molecular & single cell level, and established organoid cultures as an ageing research model. Since February 2024, she is leading her own research group at Helmholtz Munich, which builds on Maja's expertise: identifying the role of the airway epithelium in age-related lung diseases, in particular COPD, using lung organoid cultures as a primary research model. 

In addition to her direct research activities, Maja has a passion for science communication, for which she also runs her own website.

Scientific Memberships: German Society for Aging Research (DGfA), European Respiratory Society (ERS), The German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM), German Alliance on Climate Change and Health (KLUG) 

Hobbies: Running, Reading, Meditation

Bucket list items: Traveling again to Mauritius, Finishing a triathlon

Favorite quote: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” (Oscar Wilde)

ORCiD: 0000-0002-2891-3739

Sharduli (she/her)

Position: PhD Student

Sharduli is originally from Kurukshetra, India. She graduated with a B.Tech. in Biotechnology from Kurukshetra University, India, in 2021. Following her undergraduate studies, she came to Munich to pursue her Master’s in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich. Sharduli developed a keen interest in 3D cellular models during her Master’s internship while working with spheroids of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. In her MSc thesis, she focused on studying the interaction of different mediators of NF-κB signaling in T lymphocytes. She is now a doctoral candidate at Funk Lab, and her research aims to study the molecular mechanisms of environmental stress and ageing–induced loss of airway epithelial barrier function in COPD using 3D lung organoids. Her research aims to identify age-related changes, for example at the epigenetic level, that promote inflammation in COPD and slow down the regenerative capacity of epithelial stem cells by targeting them, using drug screening approaches.

Hobbies: Music, Walking in a park, Chess, Drawing

Bucket list items: Seeing Northern lights, Visiting the Grand Canyon

Favorite quote: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Sefa Berkay Çayir (he/him)

Position: PhD Student

Berkay has completed his Bachelor’s in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Bilkent University, Turkey in 2021. He started to focus on stem cell research during his internships and continued his education in Developmental and Stem Cell Master’s at Heidelberg University. There, he had experience with various model organisms and cell types. For his MSc thesis, he has worked with lactating mammary-derived organoids to mimic the mammary glands’ development and assessed the effects of polyploidization on the organoids at DKFZ. As a doctoral candidate at the Funk Lab, he aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms of age related changes in lung tissue, while enhancing the lung organoid systems by establishing co-cultures and introducing environmental stressors to the culture.

Hobbies: Video Games, Cooking, Playing guitar

Bucket list items: Hiking in Madeira, Hawaii & Iceland; Seeing the Blue Whales; Attending to a System of a Down concert

Favorite quote: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift, that is why it is called the present.” (Master Oogway)

Lili Rusznyak (she/her)

Position: PhD Student

Lili was born in Miskolc, Hungary. She completed her Bachelor´s and Master´s in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich in 2024. She developed an interest in organoids during her time as a Student Research Assistant at the Department of Pharmacology (LMU) while working with human retinal organoids for the evaluation of gene therapy approaches. In the last year of her studies, she did an ERASMUS exchange year at Uppsala University in Sweden while focusing on type 1 diabetes and organoids. For her Master´s thesis, she worked with lentiviral lineage tracing to investigate the occurrence of transdifferentiation in human islets of Langerhans. As a doctoral candidate at the Funk Lab, she aims to develop an organoid-based cell therapy for COPD. Her research aims to identify and engineer candidate factors for an improved growth capacity and anti-inflammatory effect of the organoids that will be transplanted into and evaluated in a preclinical COPD mouse model. 

Hobbies: Running, Tennis, Knitting

Bucket list items: See cherry blossom season in Japan, Eat pizza in San Francisco, Swim with dolphins

Favorite quote: “When faced with setbacks and failures, we mustn't blame others; assigning blame keeps us focused on things over which we have no power. Instead, we can respond to misfortune by learning more, working harder and being more creative.” (Katalin Karikó)