Stefanie Grosswendt

Stefanie Grosswendt is a systems biologist and leading researcher in single-cell biology. She heads the research group “From Cell States to Function” at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (MDC-BIMSB), and works in close collaboration with the Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology at Charité.

She studied biology in Berlin, New York, and Zurich and earned her PhD at MDC-BIMSB, and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and the Max Planck Insitute for Molecular Genetics.

Since 2021, she has lead her own research group, developing single-cell transcriptomic approaches to study how cells communicate in tissues. Just as in linguistic communication, cells use a multitude of signals – like words – in different combinations and contexts. Stefanie’s team develops new ways for us to listen in and decipher this intricate interplay between cells.

Stefanie’s work has earned her major recognition, including the BSIO Female Independence Award (2021) and an ERC Starting Grant (2022) for her project Cellmates, which explores how neighboring cells communicate and influence one another in health and disease.