People
Group leader
Dr. Priyanka Sharan
Priyanka Sharan is a Group Leader in the department of Prof. Dr. Katharina Landfester where she leads the Polymersome Systems subgroup within the Artificial Cell project. She graduated from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, India studying Materials Science and Engineering in 2018. She then joined the group of Dr. Juliane Simmchen at TU Dresden for her PhD, focusing on the fabrication of artificial microswimmers using microfluidics and investigating their behavior in complex environments. After finishing her doctorate, she continued in the same group as a postdoctoral researcher before moving to MPI for Polymer Research in Mainz as a postdoctoral researcher.
PhD Students
Gabrielle Anjani Ong
Gabrielle is a PhD student in the Artificial Cell Group, where she explores the exciting frontiers of synthetic biology and self-assembly. She started with a bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering at Kyushu University in Japan, followed by the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Chemical Nanoengineering across Aix-Marseille University (France), Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Poland), and the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy). She completed her master’s thesis at TU Darmstadt on multi-compartment systems behavior.
At the Synthetic Cell Group, Gabrielle focuses on polymer vesicle membranes, exploring different analytical tools to study polymersomes and enabling complex reactions within compartmentalized systems. Her work is driving fresh insights into microscale self-assembly and opening exciting possibilities for the future of synthetic cells.
Philipp Föckler
Philipp is a PhD student within the Artificial Cell Group. He completed his bachelor's degree at the universities of Heidelberg and Mainz followed by a master’s degree in macromolecular and analytical chemistry from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. He conducted his master's thesis in the group of Prof. Landfester, where he investigated microparticle uptake in artificial cells.
For his PhD project, he is interested in the membrane modulation of polymersomes, with the aim of enabling controlled and targeted cross-membrane transport of various cargoes. Additionally, as part of the InteReg project, he is working on the synthesis and functionalization of protein nanocapsules for targeted cell uptake.
Maryam Sadat Adibhosseini
Maryam received her bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology, followed by a master's in Biomedical Engineering, graduating with honors in 2023. During her Master’s research, she developed a composite cryogel scaffold made from gelatin, nanofibrillated cellulose, and partially demineralized chitin—designed to enhance tissue regeneration. Since September 2024 Maryam has been a PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in the Department of Physical Chemistry of Polymers directed by Prof. Katharina Landfester.
As part of her doctoral research, she focus on the formation of cytoskeleton-like structures inside polymersomes through peptide self-assembly. Polymersomes act as model compartments for artificial cell systems, providing a confined environment for the controlled assembly of peptide-based filaments or networks.
Master Students
Emily MacLellan
Emily is a Masters student working in the Artificial cell group. She completed her bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Glasgow. Her focus is on fine tuning of polymersome membranes, exploring the effect of controlled addition of a co-surfactant on membrane characteristics and polymersome behaviour, in particular the permeability.
Previous Members
1. Brati Chakraborty (Masters Internship) : Nov 2025 - Feb 2026
2. Isa Denis Tas (Bachelor Internship ) : Nov 2025 - Apr 2026
3. Isa Denis Tas (Bachelor Thesis) : Jun 2026 - Aug 2026