KATRIN NEUBAUEROVÁ Role: Researcher Area: Bioengineering  Employer: Bene Meat   What can I help my mentee with? independence in scientific work (how to develop your own project, how to set up a start-up strategy) optimizing systems design of 3D scaffolds working with materials

Katrin works at Bene Meat, a biotech startup, where they are researching and developing technology for the production of artificially cultured meat. She came to the company in its early days, and as she was the only person on the team who had never worked with cell cultures, she started taking care of everything else - bioreactor design, materials research, and media purification. So, she tried her hand at many areas and ended up doing research and development of 3D scaffolds and bioreactor design for cell culture. "You have to make clear what your goal is and then whatever you need to achieve it, you have to be able to procure or learn. Be flexible and don't be afraid, even if you're going somewhere you don't know."

Katrin enjoys organizing her time. "I stand by the fact that once I leave work I don't want to think about it anymore. In the research area this is challenging because your work is always running through your head. But if you set it up functionally, then it makes sleeping and eating and living in general so much better." She is also motivated to get involved in mentoring by her desire to work with people, to help students with the hardships she herself has gone through, and to help them find paths they can take in life.