Elizabet Savkova

Stefan-Hell-Fellowship Holder

elizabet.savkova@mpinat.mpg.de

Tel. +49 551 201-26116

My passion for science developed during my childhood. I grew up with good-night stories about the universe because my father was a big fan of Stephen Hawking, and in the summer vacations I listened to my grandmother, who, to my mind, knew every medical application of the plants in and outside of the garden. The astonishment inspired by the variety of nature and the interesting laws that govern it, as well as my love for discovering solutions to unanswered questions, resulted in my decision to dedicate myself to science. 

I began my academic journey in 2019. I moved to the southernmost German city in the Black Forest (Freiburg) to complete my Bachelor's and Master's in Biology.  During my Bachelor's degree, I discovered that I wanted to become a developmental biologist. By the end of my Bachelor's programme, I was working with fruit flies to study the patterning mechanisms (Dpp pathway) in the larval wing imaginal disc. As I learned about the incredible development of organisms, I found it even more fascinating how they are able to maintain and, when required, restore this complicated organisation. This is why I ended up in a regeneration group for my master's thesis, studying the metabolic programme of regenerating and dying cells. 

Combining my love of patterning and regeneration, I recently joined Prof. Rink's lab, where I received the great opportunity to get to know the incredible, tiny and funny with their big eyes creatures, which are presenting one of the most interesting and important model organisms for studying regeneration. 

Finally, in my free time I stimulate my gray cells (as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot would say) by studying the variety of human communication. I think languages are an amazing way to learn about human history and traditions.