Following a competitive selection process, Dr. Stephanie Fernandes (CGA alumna, Class of 2017) was selected as a Minerva Fast Track Fellow. This programme offers exceptional female scientists the opportunity for long-term career planning after completing their doctorate or their first postdoctoral position. The programme aims to increase the proportion of women in scientific leadership roles, while maintaining the highest quality standards.

Stephanie has obtained funding for up to four years to investigate how to preserve muscle health during aging and has started her own Research Group at the MPI-AGE. She has recently joined CECAD as a full member.

First of all, congratulations on being awarded the Minerva Fast Track Fellowship. Could you briefly share what this award means to you personally and professionally?

Thank you very much! This award means a lot to me, both personally and professionally. It represents a recognition that the hard work I put in during my PhD and postdoctoral years was worth it. I moved from Brazil to Germany in 2017, and reaching the point of being able to start my own research group, confirms that this was the right decision. In addition, the Minerva Fast Track Fellowship allows me to plan my career long term, and I believe the experience of leading a group early on will make me more prepared to lead a larger group in the future. 

At the same time, this achievement would not have been possible without the support of the CGA during my PhD, as well as the excellent supervision I received from my PhD and postdoctoral mentor, Dr. Constantinos Demetriades, and from the MPI for Biology of Ageing director, Prof. Dr. Adam Antebi. They believed in me and my ideas and gave me full support throughout the Minerva Fast Track application process.

Looking back into your PhD within the CGA, were there any pivotal moments that significantly shaped your research direction? What made you stay in the academic path?

One pivotal moment during my PhD was realizing that my results could not be fully explained by what was already known in the field, and that they were pointing toward a more complex picture. This gave me a strong sense that my work was genuinely contributing new knowledge and helped shape the research direction I continue to pursue. These realizations often happened when I obtained new results and started reflecting on their meaning and on how to address the scientific question with further experiments.

The process of looking at experimental results, interpreting them, and designing the next steps is what I have always loved most about science. I think this is also why I chose to stay in academia. I enjoy both developing scientific questions and thinking about how to answer them, as well as reading the literature and putting my own work into a broader context. In addition, academia can be a very fulfilling career, full of purpose and intellectually exciting moments.

So far, what have been for you the most exciting aspects of starting a research group? On the other hand, what are the biggest challenges?

For me, the most exciting aspects of starting a research group are defining research directions and scientific projects, as well as hiring people. This is a phase that requires a lot of reading and thinking, and it allows you to develop a focused vision for what the next years will look like scientifically. In addition, meeting highly motivated prospective PhD students and postdocs is inspiring, as they will help shape both the scientific direction and the atmosphere of the group.

On the other hand, one of the biggest challenges is also hiring, as this is a skill we are not formally trained for before reaching a leadership role. Making decisions can be difficult when there are several good candidates. Budgeting is another new and challenging aspect. However, these challenges become much more manageable with strong institutional support and by exchanging experiences with other group leaders.

What advice could you give to current PhD students who aspire to stay in academia? In your opinion, what should researchers be prepared for when starting their research group?

Above all, resilience is essential. Science involves many failed experiments and rejections, but persistence and a strong focus on answering meaningful scientific questions make this process manageable and rewarding. It is also important to view academia as a collaborative environment. Working closely with lab mates, supervisors, and colleagues from other groups, and openly exchanging ideas, can be incredibly inspiring. Finally, I would advise students to actively seek feedback, as this is one of the best ways to grow scientifically.

When starting a research group, researchers should be prepared for a significant change in what a typical workday looks like. While science remains central, it is experienced from a different perspective. You are no longer fully in the lab, but instead spend substantial time writing grants, organizing resources, hiring people and giving talks. It is an exciting transition, but very different from the daily tasks of a PhD student or postdoctoral researcher.

What excites you the most about your lab's research topic and what are your current research goals for the next 4 years?

My research topic is defined by the work I carried out during my PhD and postdoctoral training, but it is also deeply connected to my scientific background before coming to Germany. In this way, it brings together the core interests I have developed throughout my career. I believe that the fundamental mechanisms I uncovered during my PhD and postdoctoral stages can be placed in the broader context of ageing, particularly in relation to the loss of muscle mass, a process that affects everyone over time. This puts me in a strong position to contribute a new perspective to the field, with the potential for future translation to human ageing.

Over the next four years, my main research goal is to understand how muscle health can be preserved over time, ideally leading to at least one key publication. But beyond scientific output, one of my main aspirations is to be a supportive and effective supervisor. Helping my team members develop, succeed, and progress in their careers would be one of my greatest achievements, and I hope to contribute to training and inspiring the next generation of scientific leaders.