We are delighted to welcome our new Writing-Up Fellow Nina Kraus to the KLI. Nina is currently working towards her PhD at the University of Vienna within the Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution. Nina's research interest is in the realm of evolutionary medicine, specifically the evolutionary history of cardiogenesis and its implications for congenital heart diseases (CHD) in humans. Nina has studied and published her work on the development of the anuran heart for her her Master's thesis. Her PhD research explores how environmental factors influence the evolution and development of cardiac structures in humans.

During her Fellowship at the KLI, from March 1st to August 31st, 2025, Nina will be working on her project titled "Environmental Drivers of Cardiac Evolution and Development,".

In addition to her research, Nina teaches courses on imaging and visualization in developmental biology, contributing to the training of future scientists. She is also actively involved in the scientific community by organizing and participating in interdisciplinary journal clubs focused on computational evolutionary biology and presenting her work at international conferences. Furthermore, Nina is part of the doc:muv mentoring program, which supports female doctoral candidates in their career development and skill-building.

Here's wishing Nina a wonderful time at the KLI!