In the second season of “Keeping up with the Boost Fellows”, GSO’s Birte Seffert travels across Germany to visit the 15 fellows who started their Klaus Tschira Boost Fund projects in 2025. The series offers a closer look at their research, their working environments, and the realities of building a research career today.

This time, the visit leads to the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland and to two Fellows whose paths demonstrate what non-linear academic career paths look like in practice: Mariia Nesterkina and Florian Hubrich.

Two projects, one shared ambition: Advancing pharmaceutical research

Both Mariia and Florian work on questions that connect fundamental science with real-world challenges, from drug delivery to antimicrobial resistance.

Mariia’s project focuses on improving treatments for skin infections. She investigates thermotropic liquid crystals, materials that can change their structure and enable controlled drug release. The aim: “smart” wound dressings that respond to the skin and improve treatment outcomes.

Florian’s project looks at natural products produced by bacteria in extreme environments. These organisms were long thought to be unable to produce such compounds — yet some do. His work aims to understand how these molecules are synthesized and how they might be used as new drug leads, particularly in the context of anti-infectives.

“We knew of each other, but only really met through the Boost Fund”

Before becoming Boost Fellows, Mariia and Florian were aware of each other at the institute but not more. It was only after looking at the list of new Fellows that they realized two applicants from HIPS had been successful and got in touch. Today, they often exchange ideas and support each other in managing their Boost funding.

Non-linear academic career paths: different reasons, shared strengths

Another connection they share: neither of their CVs follows a straight academic line.

Mariia completed her PhD in 2017 and was already an associate professor in Odesa at 29, before having to leave Ukraine due to the war and rebuild her career in Germany, in a new academic system.

Florian, in contrast, left academia after his PhD in 2014, spent several years in industry, and then returned. A step often described as difficult at the least.

Asked what “superpowers” come with such paths, both point to something similar but from different angles.

For Mariia, it is adaptability: She has learned to navigate new systems, environments, and expectations  and to position her research ideas.

For Florian, it is structure and perspective: Industry taught him to work in a more organized and output-oriented way, and to change direction when something does not work, rather than persisting indefinitely.

Returning to academia with a background in Natural Sciences: Florian’s perspective

Based on his own experience, Florian highlights several factors that can make a return to academia more realistic:

• Stay connected to your scientific network and regularly seek feedback
• Don’t try to navigate the process alone
• Consider international options where transitions between sectors are more common
• Use what you learned outside academia: structure, efficiency, output orientation
• Look beyond universities, e.g. to non-university research institutes
• Be clear about your motivation: returning often means accepting uncertainty
• Choose your institution carefully (fit, infrastructure, support, network)
• Be realistic about the role you apply for and what it implies for your career step

Looking ahead: three years from now

Both Mariia and Florian see the Boost Fund as a starting point.

Mariia envisions herself in a professorship, leading her own group, with first results from her team and a growing scientific profile.

Florian focuses on building a new research line: If the project develops as hoped, it will lead to publications, a clearer assessment of its long-term potential, and possibly a new direction for his group.

“If the Boost Fund were a cocktail…”

As a long-time professional bartender, Florian imagines a mix of citrus, herbal infusions, and champagne: “Refreshing, innovative, experimental and stimulating, just like the Boost Fund.”

About the KT Boost Fund

The Boost Fund supports postdoctoral researchers and early group leaders in Germany with flexible funding for independent, often higher-risk and interdisciplinary projects, combined with career development opportunities and access to a strong peer network.

The program addresses a critical phase after the PhD, where researchers are expected to develop independence, but often lack the resources and flexibility to do so. It creates space to explore new directions, build collaborations, and take responsibility early on.