Ph.D. Student visits Osaka

One day after the submission of his doctoral thesis, Ph.D. student Stefan Mommer packed his bags and set out for Japan. There, he currently is a guest at the Osaka University at the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences" for three month and is working on a research project. He will be back in Germany shortly before Christmas.

Mommer is at Ph.D. student at the DWI since 2012, supervised by Professor Möller and Dr. Helmut Keul. An insatiable wanderlust has taken hold of him when he first visited York in Great Britain during his time as a chemistry student at the RWTH Aachen University.  He decided to travel to Japan, when Professor Mitsuru Akashi from Osaka University visited the DWI last year to give a lecture. “Professor Möller’s connections to research colleagues from all over the world, including Japan, have definitely paved the way for my stay”, says Mommer. Professor Akashi is currently conducting research on cell cultivation in 3D structures and different print-techniques for the automatic printing of gels, cells and tissue samples. He collaborates with Japan’s most renowned enterprises in this field. The DWI assists exceptionally ambitioned Ph.D. students in their professional career and is supporting Mommer during his travels. Former colleagues have provided assistance with organizational obstacles and Osaka helped via email, as well.
So far, Mommer has made some great experiences during his trip. “Research-wise, I have learned quite a lot. As a polymer chemist I never had the opportunity to work with cells up until now. Here in Japan I have learned the basic handling of cells and the methods to cultivate them at first hand.” Also, Mommer familiarized himself with new analytic methods and highly specialized procedures. He noticed some differences in comparison to the work of a polymer chemist: “When you are synthesizing polymers, you are mainly working under the fume hood. Here, the cells are doing the work. Of course, you have to take care of them constantly and everything needs to be very clean.” In Japan, the gels resulting from Mommer’s doctoral thesis are examined with regards to their interaction with cells and possible applications in tissue cultivation.
Mommer also didn’t miss out on cultural experiences. “There is so much more to see, than I could have imagined before I got here. The Japanese Cuisine is a real adventure. So far, I have had amazing fresh fish and other specialties. Also, Japan has great scenery. At one second, you are standing in the middle of a city of millions with high technology buildings and flickering LCD advertisements, but after a 50 minute ride with the subway you can admire a picturesque landscape with temples. Also, the public transport in Japan is always on time”.
Mommer concludes: „ Altogether, it was a great decision to come here. Japan has so much to offer, not only scientifically but also culturally. Japan’s culture has evolved over thousands of years and is now coexisting with a highly modern society.”