Team

Ivan Đikić

Chief Advisor & Co-Founder

Ivan is a leading expert in the fields of ubiquitin biology and autophagy. He is one of the founders of Vivlion and chief advisor to the company. He is Director of the Institute of Biochemistry II at Goethe University, where 3Cs technology was invented. In his research lab, a multidisciplinary team of scientists elucidates the molecular principles that drive human diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration and infection. For his scientific accomplishments, Ivan received numerous awards, including the Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize. In addition, he is a honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ivan holds a PhD from University of Zagreb School of Medicine.

Manuel Kaulich

Chief Scientific Officer & Co-Founder

Manuel is one of the co-founders of Vivlion and a Goethe University Professor, heading the functional genomics and genetic vulnerabilities group at the Institute of Biochemistry II. His laboratory developed the 3Cs technology and dissects unperturbed and malignant cell cycle entry regulation. Manuel studied biotechnology/molecular life science, obtained his PhD at the MPI of Biochemistry and the Biozentrum in Basel and then moved to University of California San Diego for his postdoctoral studies. Since then, he became an expert in gene editing applying CRISPR and rAAVs in functional genetic screens.  

Martin Wegner

Head of R&D and Customer Solutions

Martin was trained as bioinformatician at Goethe University and is one of the inventors of the 3Cs technology. He is an expert in CRISPR screening and analysis, including combinatorial applications to identify genetic interactions. Following his PhD in the Kaulich laboratory, he joined the Vivlion team, heading the R&D and customer solutions section, focusing especially on Vivlion’s proprietary bioinformatic pipeline for experimental design and analysis. Martin’s research interests evolved from network biology and its applications to the analysis of neurodegenerative diseases towards dissecting genetic vulnerabilities using sophisticated CRISPR technologies. 

Elena Vialetto

Scientific Project Manager

Elena studied biotechnology and obtained a master’s degree from the University of Padova. During her PhD in the Beisel laboratory at Helmholtz Institute in Würzburg, she deciphered the collateral activity of Cas13 in bacteria, tested the efficacy of different CRISPR systems as antimicrobials and investigated the influence of gRNA secondary structure on targeting. With her expertise in various CRISPR systems, genetic engineering and genome editing, she supports Vivlion’s customers in experimental planning and is responsible for managing scientific projects tailored to customer needs.

Sönke Bästlein

Chief Financial Officer

Sönke spent more than 20 years in consulting at McKinsey & Company, Inc., and in private equity at Nordic Capital. He is angel investor and managing shareholder of private investment management firm gsccb Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH. Sönke’s experience includes serving on advisory and supervisory boards, and he teaches “Equity Governance” at Goethe University Frankfurt / Main. He holds a diploma in mechanical engineering (specialising in process engineering) from RWTH Aachen and a PhD in business administration from Goethe University. Sönke joined the Vivlion team as investor in 2019 and as CFO end of 2022.  

Micheal Murphy

Chief Commercial Officer

Micheal spent 28 years in commercial leadership positions with Evonik Industries, a leading specialty chemical company, and was most recently chief commercial officer with Numaferm GmbH, a biotech start-up specializing in peptides. Micheal holds a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Dublin City University and a diploma in business studies from University College Dublin. Micheal joined the Vivlion team end of 2022.

Kerstin Koch

Head of Business Development & Co-Founder

Kerstin is an experienced scientific manager who has a track record in strategically planning and coordinating large-scale, multidisciplinary research consortia, both at University of Cambridge (UK) and at Goethe University Frankfurt. Following her diplomas in biochemistry and journalism, she took a deep dive into pharma PR before obtaining a PhD in biochemistry from University of Hamburg. Kerstin is one of the founders of Vivlion and today responsible for business development. 

Claudio Sabatelli

Operations Manager

Prior to joining Vivlion GmbH as an Operations Manager, Claudio spent three years in consulting private and listed companies on capital market topics. Claudio holds a masters degree in ecology and evolution from Goethe University Frankfurt and spent two years working for the Chinese Academy of Science in Chengdu. 

You – take your next career step at Vivlion

We are always looking for talents who are keen to join us. If you are interested in being part of the exciting journey of Vivlion, please forward your application with cover letter, CV, references in one pdf to careers@vivlion.com.