Dr. Cláudia Vilhena

Junior Group Leader

Cláudia holds a master degree on Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and did her master thesis at the University of Cambridge (UK). She obtained her doctoral degree in Microbiology from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich (Germany), where she studied pyruvate-sensing two-component systems in Escherichia coli. She then did a 4-year postdoc at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Products Research and Infection Biology in Jena, where she investigated surface-exposed proteins from Streptococcus pneumoniae using super-resolution microscopy and she also looked into extracellular vesicle formation. After a short experience as an associate editor at Nature Biotechnology, Cláudia started her junior research group at FAU Erlangen in October 2024. Outside the lab, Cláudia enjoys camping in her van, reading and watching football.

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M. Sc. Miriana Battista

PhD student

Miriana pursued her master’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Siena (Italy), focusing on the effects of natural compounds on the angiogenesis process.
As a research assistant, she explored the field of infection biology at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology in Jena (Germany), where she investigated the role of pneumococcal extracellular vesicles in the development of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.
After working for a year in scientific communication as a medical writer, she began her doctoral studies at FAU Erlangen, where she explores the dynamic interactions between Streptococcus pneumoniae and its environment, particularly studying the biogenesis of pneumococcal extracellular vesicles.
Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading books, drinking tea, and training at the gym.

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M. Sc. Dani Ramadhani

Research assistant

Dani obtained his master’s degree in Biology from the Technical University of Munich (Germany), with a specialization in microbiology, genetics, biochemistry/cellular biology, and medical biology. During his master’s studies, Dani gained professional experiences as a research assistant at the Klinikum rechts der Isar, where he also completed his master’s thesis. The research focused on the application of click chemistry to induce interstrand crosslinks in homologous recombination-deficient cancer cells. For his thesis, he harnessed these mechanisms for targeted DNA damage induction and radiosensitisation of glioblastoma in vitro and in vivo. In February 2026, Dani joined the Pharmaceutical Biology group at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and the BID Lab, where the research focuses on understanding extracellular vesicles of Streptococcus pneumoniae and exploring their potential as a vaccine platform. Outside of the lab, Dani enjoys watching TV series, travelling to new places, and playing video games.