Our Team

Sebastian is a first year master’s student of Molecular Biotechnology at Heidelberg University, where he also obtained his BSc in the same major. Having worked at the Heidelberg University Hospital and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, he now joined the Center for Systems Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital to do research on the evolution of colorectal cancer. Apart from his interest in translational research and entrepreneurship, Sebastian enjoys sports and travelling.

Rahel Dette is a Master of Public Policy 2019 Candidate and McCloy Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. She has been working on the role of technology in conflict settings, most recently advising the German development ministry on topics such as cyber security capacity building. She is a non-resident fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, and affiliate at digitalHKS as well as the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.  

Daniel Heid is a graduate student in Molecular Biotechnology at University of Heidelberg. He is conducting pancreatic cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is a fellow of the Immunology Summer Program at Harvard Medical School. Daniel is driven by his passion for biotech and is involved in the promotion of young talents. In his spare time, he enjoys running, traveling, and cooking.

John is a master’s candidate in law and diplomacy at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, where he focuses on international business and European political economy. Before moving to the Northeast, John completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Heels!), with stints in Germany and South Africa, and internships in the legal and financial sectors. In his free time, John occasionally regrets not having become a pilot and enjoys running, photography, and shopping at IKEA. 

Markus is an ERP-fellow and PhD candidate in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics at Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.  His research interests range from soft robotics to circulatory support devices and pediatric applications. Markus completed his BSc. and MSc. of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and enjoys soccer along with a wide variety of outdoor sports during his free time.

Hümeyra is a Research Trainee at the PNL at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to learn to use state-of-the-art computerized neuroimaging tools to investigate brain abnormalities in clinical populations, in comparison to healthy control subjects. Hümeyra is a master’s student, majoring in Molecular Biomedicine at the University of Münster, Germany and holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Hamburg. Guided by a passion for art, she contributes to the GAC communications team with her creativity and drawing skills.

Katharina is a medical engineering and medical physics PhD candidate in the joint Health Sciences and Technology program at MIT and Harvard. In her research she is exploring the translation of deep learning algorithms for medical image analysis into clinical practice. Katharina holds a BSc in Physics from Kiel University and MD from Heidelberg University. When not busy with research and the GAC, she volunteers at a student-faculty community clinic and enjoys reading and rowing on the Charles.

Alex is a second year Master in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School. Before joining the program he worked in management consulting, primarily focused on PE and public sector clients. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Germany, he pursued his prior education in both countries to obtain degrees in Business Administration, History and Spanish. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the world with his backpack, learning languages and playing team sports.  

Katharina is a visiting research student at the Center for Collective Intelligence at MIT where she is working on contests for ideas against climate change and plastic pollution. During her B.Sc. in Management and an Honors Degree in Technology Management from Munich, she grew a passion for social entrepreneurship. Therefore she is working on a project on net-positive climate impacts and is excited to be a member of the Innovation Lounge team of the GAC. She enjoys singing and playing all kinds of outdoorsy sports. 

Jonas is a graduate student in Industrial Engineering and Sustainable Development at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. After gaining extensive research experience throughout his studies, he is currently writing his Master’s Thesis at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics on sustainable supply chains.

Annie is a 4th year medical student at the University of Heidelberg. She is currently pursuing her doctoral thesis at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Being passionate about going into the field of general surgery, she is focusing on finding important signaling pathways in pancreatic cancer. In her free time, Annie enjoys running along the Charles, travelling as much as possible and meeting new people along the way. 

Jens is an MBA candidate at MIT Sloan and is currently an intern at TripAdvisor in Product Management. Prior to Sloan, Jens worked for Deloitte providing consulting services to Financial Institutions out of the Atlanta, GA office. He has a MSc in Finance from EBS Universität (Oestrich-Winkel) and a B.A. in Business Administration, which he obtained through a rotational Bachelor’s degree program with Continental AG. Jens co-founded a non-profit mentoring initiative to help young talented East Germans identify professional interests and successfully launch their careers.

Tim Menke is pursuing a PhD in the field of quantum computing at Harvard and MIT. He obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Physics from ETH Zurich, spending a year at the University of Colorado in Boulder for his Master’s thesis. Tim has a strong side interest in international relations, diplomacy and entrepreneurship, taking every opportunity to get involved in student conferences and workshops on those topics. When not in lab, he likes to travel, climb, and contribute to the GAC communications and security panel teams.

Backtosch is a medical student from Germany and is currently working on his doctoral thesis in neurogenetics at Harvard Medical School. In addition to his medical research, he is particularly interested in the intersection of AI and Public Health. He is currently working with the Harvard Machine Intelligence Lab, the Indian government and UNICEF on new disease prediction tools. In his spare time, he works mostly on his NGO "ApplicAid", which supports underserved groups in applying for scholarships.  

David is a student at Harvard concentrating in Economics. He is particularly passionate about entrepreneurship, dedicating much of his time to connecting with the Harvard startup scene. Apart from that, David is involved in the GAC, the Harvard Consulting Group and social organizations on campus. This summer he’ll be working for a tech startup based in New York and a VC in Los Angeles.   

Jan Philip is a Bachelor's student at the University of Münster in Business Administration and spent a year at Harvard College. Having been part of the management board of Harvard Ventures and member of Harvard Undergraduate Capital Partners he gained deep exposure of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cambridge and is now eager to apply his expertise through internships in Venture Capital and Startups in Europe.

Emma Samek is a junior at Northeastern University, pursuing a combined degree in Political Science and Business Administrations. She is also a member of the Varsity Women’s Rowing team. Because Emma grew up bilingual with Slovak and German, she has a strong interest in European politics. When not rowing on the Charles River or studying Emma helps to organize the Female Leadership Panel and is a part of the GAC communications team.

Philipp is a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. His research focuses on highly miniaturized glucose fuel cells for energy harvesting in the human body. Philipp holds a BSc in Physics and a MSc in Energy Science and Technology, both from ETH Zürich. Prior to his PhD, Philipp was managing a manufacturing software startup in Copenhagen. In his free time, Philipp enjoys bouldering, playing soccer, hiking and travelling.

Alice is a PhD candidate in Human Biology at the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. At Harvard, she is a Fellow of the Department of Statistics. Her research interests focus on causal inference methods to understand environmental epidemiology problems. Her main project is the estimation of effects of environmental exposures on the human gut microbiome. In her free time, she enjoys sewing, travelling, and skiing.

Marius is a PhD student in Cognition, Brain, & Behavior at Harvard. His research explores the neural mechanisms underlying decision-making in groups. During his studies in Zurich and London, he conducted research at the intersection of neuroscience, economics, and psychiatry. Marius also assisted with the WHO’s Zika emergency response and gained work experience in finance and management consulting. In his free time, he enjoys sailing and hiking.

Leandra Zimmermann is a junior at MIT, pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Industrial Design and a minor in Computer Science. She is interested in Biomechanics and Medical Devices and is working on prosthetic socket design in the Biomechatronics Group at the MIT Media Lab as an Undergraduate Researcher. Leandra is involved in MIT’s Art, Culture and Technology Program and enjoys running, kickboxing, and playing soccer in her free time.  

Raban is Bachelor’s student in Management & Technology at the Technical University of Munich, currently on a one-year exchange to MIT. In his coursework, he focuses on the differentiation of human and artificial intelligence. He conducts research on software performance engineering at MIT CSAIL. Raban has founded dex.blue, a decentralized exchange for crypto currencies, and has been named a Kairos Fellow. Outside of work and university, he enjoys the A* squash facilities at MIT and building pieces of furniture.

D is a MPP candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to HKS, D served as Director of the Mississippi Apprenticeship Program and has an extensive background in policy efforts centered around education and workforce/economic development. He has spent nearly five years of his life in Germany in various capacities from serving as a German Chancellor Fellow to playing American Football. D is very passionate about his home state of Mississippi and will gladly talk your ear off about his solution to world peace “The 3Bs”: blues, barbeque, and beaches.