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Dr. Johanna Bischof
Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Suite 4600, 200 Boston Avenue Medford, MA 01255 +1 617 627 4181 johanna.bischof@tufts.edu @JojoBischof |
Research interests
Research experience
Sept 2016 – present Postdoctoral Researcher
In the lab of Dr Michael Levin at Tufts University and the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts
“Pattern determination and the role of the nervous system in planaria regeneration”
“Encoding and transmission of target morphology in the regenerating planarian”
Oct 2012 PhD thesis
– Aug 2016 In the lab of Dr Peter Lenart at EMBL Heidelberg
“The molecular mechanism of Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte”
March 2012 Master thesis II (5 month research project included in MRes course)
– Aug 2012 In the lab of Prof William Wood at the University of Bath
"The Role of integrins and actin binding proteins in immune cell migration in Drosophila embryos"
Oct 2011 Master thesis I (5 month research project included in MRes course)
– March 2012 In the lab of Dr Paul De Bank at the University of Bath
"Evaluation of Silk/Gelatin scaffolds from muscle tissue engineering”
Feb 2011 Bachelor thesis at the Centre for Regenerative Therapies, TU Dresden
– June 2011 In the lab of Prof Schwille
“Development of a biophysical assay for simultaneous detection of three different interaction partners in living
cells based on Fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS)”
Aug 2010 Work placement at the Healing foundation, University of Manchester
– Oct 2010 In the lab of Prof Mace
“Macrophage differentiation in wound healing”
Education
Oct 2012 Doctor of Natural Sciences (PhD) at EMBL Heidelberg and University of Heidelberg
– Aug 2016 Grade: 1.0 (Highest grade on a scale from 1.0 (best) to 4.0 (worst)),
magna cum laude
Sept 2011 Master of Research (MRes) in Regenerative Medicine
– Oct 2012 One-year degree.
Grade: Degree with distinction (Highest grade)
Oct 2008 Bachelor of Science in Molecular Bioengineering, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden
– Aug 2011 Three-year degree.
Grade: 1.5 (on a scale from 1.0 (best) to 4.0 (worst))
Publications
Research Support
NIH R01, In review
Decoding anatomical information transfer in planaria via tissue transplantation
Role: Co-Author, Dr. Michael Levin, PI ($ 1,250,000)
The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, 2015 – current
Reading and Writing the Morphogenetic Code
Michael Levin, PI ($ 10,000,000)
Role: Postdoctoral Researcher, Participant Only
EMBL International PhD Fellowship, 2012 – 2016
4-year full scholarship (€ 90,000, plus lab overhead fees)
German Academic Scholarship Foundation, 2011 – 2012
1-year full academic scholarship for Master’s degree outside of Germany (£ 10,000)
German Academic Scholarship Foundation, 2008 – 2011
3-year educational support scholarship for outstanding undergraduate students (€ 5,500)
Teaching experience
2017 - present Organizer and Instructor of the weekly undergraduate journal club
2017 - present Lecturer and Lab Instructor: Bio52 – Experiments in Cell Biology (14 students), Team taught course, Section: The
role of bioelectricity in planarian regeneration
2016 - present Evaluator of independent undergraduate research reports and presentations (Bio194)
2014 Lecturer and Lab Instructor: EMBO course ‘Marine animal models in evolution and development’ (8 students),
Team taught course, Section: Microinjection and confocal microscopy on starfish oocytes
2013 Lecturer and Co-Organizer: Graduate student introductory course (50 students), Team taught course, Sections:
Basic Laboratory Techniques, Model Systems in Biology
2013 - 2015 Lecturer and Lab Instructor: Graduate student introductory course (10 students), Team taught course, Section:
Cell Biology and Biophysics
2013 Lecturer and Lab Instructor: EMBO course ‘Current Methods in Cell Biology’ (10 students), Team taught course,
Section: Microinjection, confocal microscopy and automated image analysis to understand meiosis in
starfish oocytes
Student Mentoring and Supervision
2018 - present Co-leader of a Tufts Mentoring circle for PhD students in Biology and Biomedical Engineering
2016 - 2019 Tufts Undergraduate students and graduate research assistants mentored:
Amrutha Chintalapudi, Sophomore 2016 – Senior 2019; Regeneration of the nervous system
Margot Day, Sophomore 2016 – Senior 2019; Repatterning in double-head regeneration, Senior Honors Thesis
Linda Lee, Sophomore 2016 – Senior 2019; Exploring the cytoskeleton in planaria
Claire Kerns, Junior 2019 – present; Exploring the cytoskeleton in planaria
Alice Gelman, Master Student 2019 – present; Regeneration of the nervous system
Joshua LaPalme, Research Assistant, 2017 – present; Long-term repatterning in planaria
Sophie Loman, Research Assistant, 2018 – present; Regeneration of the nervous system
Kelsie Miller, Senior Research Technician, 2018 – present; Automated systems for maintenance of a planarian colony, Molecular
analysis of planaria regeneration
Hans Gonzembach, Research Technician, 2017 – present; Planarian colony maintenance
Invited Seminars
2018 Duke University, Biology Department, Durham, Host: Dr. Fred Nijhout
2016 European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Host: Dr. Peter Lenart
Conference presentations
Academic Service
2019 Poster Judge at the 2019 Scientista Symposium ‘Science without Borders’
2018 – present Mentor in the Postdoctoral Association Mentoring Circle Program
2017 – 2018 Poster Judge at the ASBMB Northeast Regional Meeting
2013 Member of the Core Organizing Team for the 15th EMBL PhD Symposium ‘Competition in Biology’ (Nov 2013)
2011 - 2012 Student representative for students in graduate taught courses at the department and school level
Science communication, outreach and writing
2019 Presenter at Pint of Science Night at the Cambridge Science Festival - Voted Best talk
2017 Bunker Hill Community College – Career panel for STEM students
2017 - present Judge at the local and regional Science and Engineering Fair
2017 Presenter at the AAAS Science Days: Science in the classroom
2014 – 2016 Member of the ‘EMBL agents for outreach’, including presentations at Science Movie night, Friends of EMBL
events, ‘Meet a PhD student’ lunch
2014 Two-time presenter at the Heidelberg Science Slam
2011 – 2015 Regular contributor for the Life Science section of the online newspaper ‘Experimentation’
Prizes and Awards
2019 Best short talk at the Pint of Science Night at the Cambridge Science Festival
2015 Best short talk at Physics of Cells and Tissues Conference
2015 Best poster at the Gordon Conference “Motile and Contractile Systems”
- Formation and maintenance of patterns on the single-cell and organism level during development and regeneration
- Regeneration of the nervous system
- Role of the nervous system in regeneration
- High-resolution live-cell imaging
Research experience
Sept 2016 – present Postdoctoral Researcher
In the lab of Dr Michael Levin at Tufts University and the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts
“Pattern determination and the role of the nervous system in planaria regeneration”
“Encoding and transmission of target morphology in the regenerating planarian”
Oct 2012 PhD thesis
– Aug 2016 In the lab of Dr Peter Lenart at EMBL Heidelberg
“The molecular mechanism of Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte”
March 2012 Master thesis II (5 month research project included in MRes course)
– Aug 2012 In the lab of Prof William Wood at the University of Bath
"The Role of integrins and actin binding proteins in immune cell migration in Drosophila embryos"
Oct 2011 Master thesis I (5 month research project included in MRes course)
– March 2012 In the lab of Dr Paul De Bank at the University of Bath
"Evaluation of Silk/Gelatin scaffolds from muscle tissue engineering”
Feb 2011 Bachelor thesis at the Centre for Regenerative Therapies, TU Dresden
– June 2011 In the lab of Prof Schwille
“Development of a biophysical assay for simultaneous detection of three different interaction partners in living
cells based on Fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS)”
Aug 2010 Work placement at the Healing foundation, University of Manchester
– Oct 2010 In the lab of Prof Mace
“Macrophage differentiation in wound healing”
Education
Oct 2012 Doctor of Natural Sciences (PhD) at EMBL Heidelberg and University of Heidelberg
– Aug 2016 Grade: 1.0 (Highest grade on a scale from 1.0 (best) to 4.0 (worst)),
magna cum laude
Sept 2011 Master of Research (MRes) in Regenerative Medicine
– Oct 2012 One-year degree.
Grade: Degree with distinction (Highest grade)
Oct 2008 Bachelor of Science in Molecular Bioengineering, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden
– Aug 2011 Three-year degree.
Grade: 1.5 (on a scale from 1.0 (best) to 4.0 (worst))
Publications
- Pietak*, Bischof*, LaPalme, Morokuma, Levin; Neural Control of Body-plan Axis in Regenerating Planaria, 2019, PLOS Computational Biology, doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006904 , * authors contributed equally to this work
- Durant, Bischof, Fields, Morokuma, LaPalme, Hoi, Levin; Early Role of Bioelectric Signaling in the Establishment of Anterior/Posterior Polarity During Planarian Regeneration, 2019, Biophysical Journal, doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2019.01.029
- Klughammer, Bischof, Schnellbächer, Callegari, Lenart, Schwarz; Cytoplasmic flows in starfish oocytes are fully determined by cortical contractions, 2018, PLOS Computational Biology, doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006588
- Levin, Pietak, Bischof; Planarian Regeneration as a Model of Anatomical Homeostasis: Recent Progress in Biophysical and Computational Approaches, 2018, Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology, doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2018.04.003
- Bischof, Brand, Somogyi, Majer, Thome, Mori, Schwarz, Lenart; A cdk1 gradient guides surface contraction waves, 2017, Nature Communications, doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00979-6
Research Support
NIH R01, In review
Decoding anatomical information transfer in planaria via tissue transplantation
Role: Co-Author, Dr. Michael Levin, PI ($ 1,250,000)
The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, 2015 – current
Reading and Writing the Morphogenetic Code
Michael Levin, PI ($ 10,000,000)
Role: Postdoctoral Researcher, Participant Only
EMBL International PhD Fellowship, 2012 – 2016
4-year full scholarship (€ 90,000, plus lab overhead fees)
German Academic Scholarship Foundation, 2011 – 2012
1-year full academic scholarship for Master’s degree outside of Germany (£ 10,000)
German Academic Scholarship Foundation, 2008 – 2011
3-year educational support scholarship for outstanding undergraduate students (€ 5,500)
Teaching experience
2017 - present Organizer and Instructor of the weekly undergraduate journal club
2017 - present Lecturer and Lab Instructor: Bio52 – Experiments in Cell Biology (14 students), Team taught course, Section: The
role of bioelectricity in planarian regeneration
2016 - present Evaluator of independent undergraduate research reports and presentations (Bio194)
2014 Lecturer and Lab Instructor: EMBO course ‘Marine animal models in evolution and development’ (8 students),
Team taught course, Section: Microinjection and confocal microscopy on starfish oocytes
2013 Lecturer and Co-Organizer: Graduate student introductory course (50 students), Team taught course, Sections:
Basic Laboratory Techniques, Model Systems in Biology
2013 - 2015 Lecturer and Lab Instructor: Graduate student introductory course (10 students), Team taught course, Section:
Cell Biology and Biophysics
2013 Lecturer and Lab Instructor: EMBO course ‘Current Methods in Cell Biology’ (10 students), Team taught course,
Section: Microinjection, confocal microscopy and automated image analysis to understand meiosis in
starfish oocytes
Student Mentoring and Supervision
2018 - present Co-leader of a Tufts Mentoring circle for PhD students in Biology and Biomedical Engineering
2016 - 2019 Tufts Undergraduate students and graduate research assistants mentored:
Amrutha Chintalapudi, Sophomore 2016 – Senior 2019; Regeneration of the nervous system
Margot Day, Sophomore 2016 – Senior 2019; Repatterning in double-head regeneration, Senior Honors Thesis
Linda Lee, Sophomore 2016 – Senior 2019; Exploring the cytoskeleton in planaria
Claire Kerns, Junior 2019 – present; Exploring the cytoskeleton in planaria
Alice Gelman, Master Student 2019 – present; Regeneration of the nervous system
Joshua LaPalme, Research Assistant, 2017 – present; Long-term repatterning in planaria
Sophie Loman, Research Assistant, 2018 – present; Regeneration of the nervous system
Kelsie Miller, Senior Research Technician, 2018 – present; Automated systems for maintenance of a planarian colony, Molecular
analysis of planaria regeneration
Hans Gonzembach, Research Technician, 2017 – present; Planarian colony maintenance
Invited Seminars
2018 Duke University, Biology Department, Durham, Host: Dr. Fred Nijhout
2016 European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Host: Dr. Peter Lenart
Conference presentations
- EMBO workshop Molecular and cellular basis of regeneration and tissue repair, 2018, Transplantation of bodyplan information between planaria (Poster)
- The International Planaria meeting, 2018, Transplantation of bodyplan information between planaria (Poster)
- Nature Regeneration Conference, 2017, Transplantation of bodyplan information between planaria (Talk)
- Symposium on Dynamics and Mechanisms of Cytokinesis, 2016, Polar body extrusion and the role of surface contraction waves in starfish oocyte cytokinesis (Talk)
- Biophysical Society 60th Annual Meeting, 2016, Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte (Talk)
- Physics of Cells and Tissues Conference, 2015, Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte (Talk)
- Gordon Conference on Motile and Contractile Systems, 2015, Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte (Poster)
- Biophysical Society 58th Annual Meeting, 2014, Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte (Poster)
- EMBO Meiosis meeting, 2014, Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte (Poster)
- Jaque Monod Conference on Cell Cycle: Bridging the scales, 2014, Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte (Poster)
- EMBO workshop Oocyte maturation and Fertilization, 2013, Surface Contraction Waves in the starfish oocyte (Poster)
Academic Service
2019 Poster Judge at the 2019 Scientista Symposium ‘Science without Borders’
2018 – present Mentor in the Postdoctoral Association Mentoring Circle Program
2017 – 2018 Poster Judge at the ASBMB Northeast Regional Meeting
2013 Member of the Core Organizing Team for the 15th EMBL PhD Symposium ‘Competition in Biology’ (Nov 2013)
2011 - 2012 Student representative for students in graduate taught courses at the department and school level
Science communication, outreach and writing
2019 Presenter at Pint of Science Night at the Cambridge Science Festival - Voted Best talk
2017 Bunker Hill Community College – Career panel for STEM students
2017 - present Judge at the local and regional Science and Engineering Fair
2017 Presenter at the AAAS Science Days: Science in the classroom
2014 – 2016 Member of the ‘EMBL agents for outreach’, including presentations at Science Movie night, Friends of EMBL
events, ‘Meet a PhD student’ lunch
2014 Two-time presenter at the Heidelberg Science Slam
2011 – 2015 Regular contributor for the Life Science section of the online newspaper ‘Experimentation’
Prizes and Awards
2019 Best short talk at the Pint of Science Night at the Cambridge Science Festival
2015 Best short talk at Physics of Cells and Tissues Conference
2015 Best poster at the Gordon Conference “Motile and Contractile Systems”