Dr. rer. nat cand. Dragana Stefanovska
Doctoral researcher (Optogenetik)
Research Interests:
- Optogenetic tools for studying the signalling pathways and effects of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) in the cardiomyocytes and non-myocytes
- Investigation of effects on Ca2+ signalling upon optogenetic activation of the Gq signalling pathway in cardiac cells
Brief CV:
Dragana Stefanovska earned her Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Medicine at Ulm University, before moving to Freiburg for obtaining her Master’s degree in Neuroscience. In her Master thesis project, she studied both cellular and molecular changes of the peripheral nervous system that occur with aging. In February 2025 she joined the Optogenetic group at IEKM as a doctoral researcher, focussing on effects of optogenetic activation of the Gq signalling pathway in the heart. Dragana’s project is funded by the ERC synergy consortium ‘Switchable Rhodopsins in Life Science’.