OUR TEAM
We acknowledge and celebrate everyone who contributed to
the development of our research projects.

Photo by Maik Richter
PD DR. RER. NAT. HANNA-MARI BALDAUF
Principle Investigator
For full CV, click here
Hanna-Mari Baldauf has a profound knowledge of virology and molecular biology. She is also a fantastic group leader with a hands-on, team-driven approach to solve any problems that arise. Outside of work, she's a mother to two young children and loves geocaching and baking.
AUGUSTO DEL POZO BEN
Technical Assistant
Augusto is a trained medical technical assistant who has worked in various laboratories since 1992. He is involved in all the projects, making him a versatile member of our group. In his free time, he enjoys green tea and espresso and likes to relax with a glass of wine and cigars.
LUCA SCHELLE, M.SC.
Doctoral Student
After completing his Master's in Technical Biology at the University of Stuttgart, Luca started in our group in 2020. He is now our resident cloning expert, and also manages the FACS machines. Outside of the lab, he loves to brew (and drink) beer and does sports.
RAMYA NAIR, M.SC.
Doctoral Student
Ramya completed a Bachelor in Life Sciences at the National University of Singapore and a Master in Biology at the LMU Munich. She is our protein purification master by day, and by night she enjoys calligraphy, design, and dancing.
JOÃO VASCO CÔRTE-REAL, M.SC.
Doctoral Student
João completed a Master's degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Porto, Portgual and has now joined us as the bioinformatics and evolutionary biology expert. During his free time, he plays for the Portuguese national rugby team.
ALEJANDRO SALINAS-ILLARENA, M.SC.
Doctoral Student
Alejandro completed a Master's degree in Biochemistry at the LMU Munich. After an internship and Master's thesis with us, he is now back as a doctoral student and our is our synthetic biology expert. In his free time, he likes to swim, and try out new healthy recipes.
SATHYA DARMALINGGAM, M.SC. – Guest scientist
Doctoral student
Sathya is a PhD student at Sarah Kim-Hellmuth's lab and is currently carrying out a collaborative project as a guest scientist at the VIIRAL lab.
ANTHONY AO, B.SC.
Student intern
Anthony has joined the VIIRAL lab for his Virology research internship to complete his MSc degree in Biochemistry at the LMU. Besides his passion for immunology, he is also fascinated by entrepreneurship and how innovation is achieved through the interactions of experts of different fields. Fun fact about him: Historically speaking, he is the last generation of Portuguese colonialism in Macau!
FORMER MEMBERS
Thank you for all your hard work and contributions to our projects!
LU ZHANG
M.Sc.
ADRIAN
FRÖHLICH
M.Sc.
SAGARIKA GHOSH
Master's student
MARGARITA SHNIPOVA
Master's student
PUTRI SOEDARSONO
B.Sc.
MADELEINE GAPP
M.Sc.
PATRICIA PEREIRA
PhD
TOBIAS KOMAR
Master's student
BHAVNA MENON
Master's student
FABIAN KRIESEL
M.Sc.
PAULIINA JUTTILA
Master's student
VALENTIN
BÄRREITER
Master's student
DING NING
Master's student
CAROLINE KLIEM
M.Sc.
LEA KNEZ
Master's student
LIYING HUANG
Master's student
YANIS PIGNOT
DENIZ ESER
PHILIPP LEOPOLDSEDER
SRUJITA MAHANKALI
Master's student
Master's student
Master's student
Master's student