Candidate selected: Christoph Trenzinger

Christoph Trenzinger was born in Austria and started his academic career at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in 2012. After two years at the department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences in Zurich, he switched to the department of Biosystems Science and Engineering in Basel, where he continued with his studies in Biotechnology and obtained his MSc degree in February 2017. During his studies and throughout his master’s thesis, Christoph developed a strong interest in microfluidic devices, driven by the variety of applications that can be addressed with them, may it be for basic biological research or for in vitro diagnostics. For his master’s thesis he developed a microfluidic device for 3D culture of bone marrow cells in the lab of  Prof. Timm Schroeder and gained experience in designing, producing and operating microfluidic chips. After finishing his MSc, Christoph stayed for another 6 months in this lab, before he started his PhD at STRATEC Consumables, a leading OEM supplier of smart polymer-based consumables, based in Salzburg (Austria). Christoph got accepted as an early stage researcher (ESR) in the EN-ACTI2NG European Training Network program and is currently enrolled at the Vienna Technical University (TUW, Prof. Gerhard Schütz). During his PhD he develops a microscopy compatible microfluidic device for trapping and manipulation of individual T-cells. Since 2012, Christoph enjoys volunteering as a Paramedic at the Austrian Red Cross, at which he also conducted his civil service. Hiking, skiing and diving belong to his favorite hobbies.