About me
I began my studies at TU Wien in 2018, enrolling in the Technical Physics program. My lifelong interest in biology was already evident in my bachelor’s thesis, “Heat Denaturation of Collagen Fibrils investigated with Atomic Force Microscopy,” and in numerous biophysics-oriented courses during my bachelor’s studies. This experience ultimately led me to decide to turn my back on traditional physics as part of my master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and to devote myself entirely to researching living nature. In 2025, I completed my studies with my thesis “Bowstring-Stretching of Glycated Mouse Tail Collagen Fibrils.” In the course of my bachelor’s thesis, two project theses, and my master’s thesis, I was able to gain some experience in the field of atomic force microscopy. Fascinated by the possibility of performing mechanical experiments in the micro- and nanometer range to characterize individual collagen fibrils, I am delving even deeper into this subject through my current doctoral studies with Prof. Philipp Thurner.
Research
My research focuses on investigating the mechanical properties of individual collagen fibrils. Using nanoindentation and bowstring tests with an atomic force microscope and tensile tests on the NanoTens (a self-built experiment at the ILSB), I attempt to measure indentation moduli, tensile moduli, and stress relaxation and creep data to characterize the viscoelastic behavior. A particular focus is on the chemical modification of collagen fibrils through enzymatic and sugar-based intrafibrillar cross-links, which can occur as a result of aging or various diseases.