Internship in Graz (Austria) at the Medical University of Graz with Erasmus+

Background of the internship
I planned to do the internship in Graz from November till January at the Core Facility of Bioimaging at the Medical University of Graz. For the Neuroscience program at the University of Bremen, we are allowed to do lab rotations abroad to gain more experience, with the help of Erasmus both financially and organizationally.

About the University
The Medical University of Graz is the center of medicine and biomedical research in the south of Austria. The Core Facility Bioimaging offers analyses of cells based on colorimetric, fluorescent, and luminescent detection by using various microscopy techniques. Also, the research atmosphere around the university is very collaborative, where I have also met with a lot of labs that do research on different topics and share ideas with them.

Tasks and work
The focus of the training was on the design, characterization, and optimization of genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors and to quantitatively visualize local K⁺ changes with high spatial and temporal resolution using high-resolution fluorescence microscopy. I performed and gained experience in various techniques like cell transfection, plasmid design and microscopic measurements of local K⁺ gradients at the cell surface and its mobilization.

The City of Graz and Memories
Graz is a student city with about 300,000 inhabitants, which has a lot to offer culturally, and its location is very nice to explore the region. In addition, it was exciting to explore the cultural differences between Austria and Germany and to learn about the traditions and history in the state of Styria.

I like to say that I was lucky with my roommate who was also a student in Graz. They made my experience in Graz way better than it would’ve been. In the first weeks in Graz, we went to see Krampus which was a totally new thing to me, even after living in Germany for a year and a half. I had never heard of it before and was completely blindsided but in a funny way when I saw it run towards and beat me.

I am extremely happy for this experience and grateful for the Erasmus+ Traineeship program for making it possible.