Elections and Candidates 2026
We know you have a lot on your plate — experiments, deadlines, writing, rewriting… and maybe even sleep, if you’re lucky. But there’s one small thing you can do that makes a big difference: vote in the upcoming FAU elections for your Doctoral Researchers Representation!
Good news: Voting in the FAU election is very straightforward!
It’s possible within 1 minute online:
Remember: You have 2 votes in total and can give either 2 votes to 1 candidate or 1 vote each to 2 candidates.
The elections run from 16.06.-23.06.2026.
Marlene Compton
My name is Marlene Compton and I’m a PhD candidate at the chair for English Cultural and Literary Studies. My research focuses on the memory of the Holocaust in contemporary poetry, building on my previous work on antisemitism and comparative literature at the Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung (Technische Universität Berlin) and the Peter Szondi-Institut (Freie Universität Berlin) respectively.
During my master’s degree I was elected representative for my cohort and shortly after joining the FAU, I founded its Queer Staff Network. These experiences have given me insight into the workings of university politics and a strong commitment to advocating for the interests of underrepresented groups.
As deputy speaker of ProKo, I have been active in the steering committees of the Graduate Center, which handles all concerns of doctoral candidates, and the Council for Academic Staff. Furthermore, I have been certified to provide mental health first aid and I offer doctoral researchers a confidential, peer-level space to talk openly about concerns related to misuse of power, especially concerning issues with their supervisors.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Sarah Hermann
My name is Sarah, and I am a PhD candidate in Media Studies at FAU, where my research focuses on the
impact of AI beautifying filters in social media. Alongside my research, I am committed to actively shaping
our university community and advocating for doctoral researchers.
During my master’s degree at FAU, I served as an elected representative in the Studiengangsgremium (study
program committee). Furthermore, I am currently the official representative for early career researchers (Mittelbausprecherin) at the German Communication Association (DGPUK). Through this role, I am already
deeply involved in representing the specific interests, challenges, and needs of PhD candidates and young
academics on a broader scale.
If elected to ProKo, my main goal is to place a strong emphasis on networking and cross-disciplinary connection, building on the great work of the current representatives. I strongly believe that a vibrant, supportive,
and well-connected doctoral community is key to a successful PhD experience.
I want to use these skills to foster stronger connections among doctoral researchers across all faculties at
FAU. My vision includes organizing collaborative workshops, casual get-togethers, and interdisciplinary networking events to ensure we can share knowledge, support each other, and shape a better PhD experience
together.
I’m always up for a chat—feel free to reach out via mail, connect on LinkedIn, or share your thoughts with me directly
Lukas Thronberens
My name is Lukas Thronberens. Since October 2024 I am doing my PhD in classics at our FAU and work on my doctoral thesis at the Lehrstuhl für Klassische Philologie (Latein). I would like to get involved in the Promovierendenkonvent to ensure that the voices of doctoral students are represented and heard in the various committees and commissions of our university. My aim is to ensure that our specific needs are adequately taken into account in all matters that concern us. I want to enhance our overall doctoral experience by campaigning for modern and up-to-date working conditions for everyone of us and fostering interdisciplinary networks to bring together doctoral students from all faculties of our FAU.
As a literary scholar, the library is a particularly important concern to me. I know firsthand how vital library resources are for our research. I would like to make a contribution in ensuring that we have the best possible working conditions in our branch libraries for the time being, and that the new humanities library in the Himbeerpalast will become a useful working tool in the future. During the past electoral term, I was appointed by ProKo as an advisory member of the Bibliothekskommission (library commission). This experience gave me useful insights into the library system at our FAU. I would like to continue this involvement in the upcoming term and, in addition, serve as an elected member to advocate for our interests in this area.
I hope I stand for things that are just as important to you as they are to me and would be deeply grateful for your trust and your vote in the upcoming election!
Milena Wilkens
my name is Milena, and I have been pursuing my PhD in law since July 2025. In my research, I work on constitutional (international) law and the protection of democracy, with a particular focus on political parties and parliamentary mandates.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or ideas — I would be happy to hear from you.
Christina Wüllner
When you buy a product, you rarely think about the hundreds of decisions, people, and processes that had to align perfectly for you, the end customer, to hold the product in your hands. That’s supply chain management(my research area). And what fascinates me most is that it’s really about people, communication, and trust. The moment one link in that chain feels overlooked, the whole system suffers.
Doctoral research works the same way. We are all part of a shared academic community, and the best parts of PhD life – the spontaneous hallway conversations, the cross-disciplinary coffee chats, the moments where someone from a completely different field reframes your entire research question. This happens when we’re genuinely connected.
I’m lucky to experience that every day as a Research and Teaching Associate at the Professorship for Digital Industries, surrounded by a great team. But I know that not everyone has that, and I want to help change it.
As your representative in the Promovierendenkonvent, I want to focus on two things: making funding opportunities and support structures more visible and accessible, and ensuring doctoral candidates have a clear, confident voice in faculty decisions that affect them.
Cosima Strantz
Hi everyone,
my name is Cosima, and I am a Research Associate at the Professorship for Medical Data Science at FAU. My work focuses on digital support structures in healthcare, especially molecular tumor boards, clinical data use, and IT-supported processes in medicine.
Before this, I worked in research administration, third-party funding management, and statistical reporting. I also lived in the US for seven years and have experience balancing academic work and family life.
Through my work, I’ve seen how confusing university structures can sometimes be — especially around funding, responsibilities, teaching, project work, and supervision. That’s why I would like to help make information more accessible, strengthen communication, and support doctoral researchers with diverse academic and personal backgrounds.
I think ProKo can be a place where we share concerns, connect with each other, and make sure our perspectives are heard.
Ann-Kathrin Götz
Hello everyone,
My name is Ann-Kathrin, and I am a fifth-year medical student currently completing my doctoral thesis at the Department of Internal Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology.
For ProKo, one of my main goals is to foster interdisciplinary exchange and communication by expanding networking opportunities for all doctoral candidates across the different faculties. Engaging with researchers outside our own fields is incredibly valuable to gain new perspectives, get inspired, and ultimately improve the quality of our research.
Having completed a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Medicine in parallel to medical school, I bring experience from both a clinically oriented and a more research-focused degree. I hope this allows me to contribute a unique perspective and represent all voices across the Medical Faculty adequately.
Dr. med.-candidates are in a particularly unique position, as many of us pursue their doctoral projects alongside the medical school curriculum. Therefore, we often face different challenges and bring different experiences and skill sets than doctoral candidates from other disciplines. For this reason, I believe that representation of medical doctoral researchers across FAU committees and commissions and a strong communication between students and faculty are particularly important.
Anna Gottwald
Kamalzade Huseyn
Ella Tiuriumina
Hey everyone, Ella is here and I am a first-year doctoral researcher in Mathematics in the Life Sciences (Department of Biology). I work on breast cancer and build mathematical models that help answer, in simple terms, a very human question: after removal of the primary tumour, am I really cancer free, and if not, when might the cancer come back?
Outside my research, I am a globally recognized Women in Tech Network Ambassador and an active supporter of women in STEM. With a strong background in AI and data, I’ve seen how powerful generative AI can be, and how confusing or even stressful it becomes when there are no clear rules or support for using it.
I am running for ProKo because I want to make sure that data and GenAI at FAU work for doctoral researchers, not against us. I would like to help set clear, fair guidelines, and to offer trainings and workshops on how to use GenAI to improve your writing, research and everyday work during the doctorate.
And finally: if you need support with any issue during your PhD: supervision, workload, bureaucracy or “I just feel lost right now” ; please reach out. I enjoy connecting people, organising networking events and building a community where doctoral researchers from all faculties can meet, share experiences and help each other.
Lets enjoy this journey together!
Leona Ehnes
Hi, my name is Leona and I am a PhD student in Molecular Biology. My research focuses on investigating the role of the gut and the central nervous system in the autoimmune disease Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Outside of the lab, I want to take responsibility for protecting and improving the conditions of PhD students at FAU. That is why I am running to become part of ProKo and help strengthen the voice of doctoral researchers within our institution. In this position, I aim to promote transparent communication not only between doctoral candidates and university bodies but also within the doctoral community itself.
I look forward to strengthening connections among doctoral students, addressing potential challenges, and creating new opportunities together.
Lex J.A.A. Liegener
My name is Lex Liegener (pronouns: they/them) and I am a PhD student at the chair for Theoretical Physics II (Quantum Theory) where I work on error correction in quantum computing since Nov 25.
Politically, I am active in the topic of DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) in several regards, both at the department level as well as on the broader civic level when supporting the MYTQ e. V. in Erlangen. I strife to have matters of diversity always in mind, not only for the dimensions that I personally experience.
Apart from that I am of the conviction that we as Doctoral Students should be continuing and furthering our position as a unified body that can be active in university politics and would be honored to represent you all and us PhD students from the Faculty of Sciences in particular as a member of ProKo.
Theodor Röhrkasten
Leonhard Angerpointner
Greetings! My name is Leo, currently in my first year of my doctorate. I am working on fast characterization methods for Lithium-Ion batteries at the Chair of Electrochemical and Electrical Energy Technologies (EET). Even small differences in the electrical characteristics can make a huge difference in the long run.
After 6 years in industry I took a step back to research mostly to actually do some impactful work. And that might seem a bit naïve, but trust me, most of industry work is just as complex or monotonous or overwhelming (or you name it), just less motivating. “the sum of all adversities remains constant”, a colleague kept telling me and he was right.
Actually Bastian, the first nominee, gave me the idea to also run for ProKo. I have a bit of background knowledge in student politics, as I was also part of the faculty council back in the day in Munich, where I studied. I also bring some experience regarding worker’s rights form my industry time to the table which also triggered me to join run for ProKo.
All in all I want to enhance the transparency of our work at the ProKo about the actual impact we can make, because let’s be honest: we will not make the biggest changes, but at least we can inform and forward the PhD’s perspectives.
Bastian Rüppel
My name is Bastian and I am currently in the third year of my doctorate. At the professorship for Fluid Systems Technology in the CBI department I work on Raman spectroscopy in gases. This is an optical measurement technique that helps us with research on any hydrogen-fuelled energy conversion system – whether it is fuel cells, internal combustion engines or whatever you can think of.
For the past year, I have been actively involved in committee work at FAU as a ProKo member for Techfak. We doctoral candidates are severely underrepresented in these committees, and I am running for another term to advocate for our interests on all possible levels. Another goal I have for the second term is to foster community among doctoral students within the faculty and across university through social yet informative events.