Dr. Ekaterina Vorobevskaia
Dr. Ekaterina Vorobevskaia grew up in an environment in which education and science were highly valued. A scientific education and career were therefore an obvious choice. In her native Russia, she studied biogeography, which sparked her interest in molecular biology. A decisive turning point in her professional career was her subsequent Master's degree at the TUD Dresden University of Technology. The field of molecular bioengineering was completely new at first, but at the same time "it absolutely fascinated and captivated me". Vorobevskaia began working in Prof. Michael Schlierf's group at the B CUBE - Center for Molecular Bioengineering during her Master's degree. Together with the group, she is researching integrons, a special bacterial genetic system that enables rapid adaptation to various stress factors. At the same time, it contributes to the development of multiple antibiotic resistances. Her goal is therefore to find ways to suppress this system in a targeted manner in order to better combat antibiotic resistance in bacterial infections. She was awarded the Georg Helm Prize of TU Dresden in 2024 for her outstanding doctoral thesis.
When Dr. Vorobevskaia began her Master's degree at TUD, she was already a mother of two. She mastered the associated challenges with good self-organization and effective time management. The division of tasks and workload also helped her a lot.
Dr. Vorobevskaia believes "that women should be represented in science just as much as men - but the basis should always be performance and not gender." For the future, she would like to see more support offers for women with families, as they often need more flexibility to be able to combine research and family life.
Young female scientists should take advantage of the special funding and support offers for women in science, as these offer great opportunities for their own careers. She herself received a scholarship to support young female scientists at the TUD, which funded her three-year doctorate. Dr. Vorobeskaia also advises: "If something interests you - pursue it. Build up your knowledge and never stop learning."