Our colleague Mona Haase passed her doctoral examination with summa cum laude on 8 September 2025. We congratulate her wholeheartedly!
Mona began her academic career at HHU, where she studied biochemistry. She wrote her bachelor's thesis at our institute and went to Jan Deska at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry at Aalto University in Finland for her master's thesis. She has been back with us since 2021, working on her doctoral thesis entitled ‘Application of C3-methyltransferases for natural product synthesis’. Since then, she has done impressive work. During her doctoral studies, she has been involved in seven publications to date, won numerous poster awards and presented her research at many conferences. She has become a real role model for many doctoral students – especially when it comes to successful doctoral studies and publishing. Despite her busy schedule, she has always made time to supervise students and trainees and answer questions from younger doctoral candidates. With her open manner, she has enriched our institute not only professionally but also personally. Her cinnamon rolls, which she brought to celebrations and special occasions, are famous and will remain fondly remembered by many.
Mona is currently looking forward to a well-deserved trip around Europe before new challenges await her. We wish her a wonderful trip and every success in everything that lies ahead, and we already know we will miss her!