Grateful for the invitation to the Cold Spring Harbor Conference Asia on Immune Receptor Signalling in Awaji, Japan, and to chat with the recent Nobel laureate Shimon Sakaguchi about my second favourite T cell subset.

Bar evening with students from the Czech Society of Immunology in Mikulov. Thanks for the invitation to the International Conference of Analytical Cytometry and to the Career Advice panel discussion.

Women in Science Symposium at the European Society of Dermatological Research Meeting together with Yasmine Belkaid, Enikö Sonkoly, Beatrice Dyring-Andersen and Mercedes Diz. What an opportunity to talk about our personal journey and the challenges as Women in Science. Overwhelmed by the positive feedback.

The Hinterzartner Circle of the German Research Foundation (DFG). Excited to have been invited to this special meeting at beautiful Lake Como to discuss cutting-edge cancer research.

Villa Collina. Our location for the Hinterzartner Circle. Perfect location to discuss science with colleagues from all over the world.

Thanks for the invitation to Helmholtz Munich for a research seminar and exciting scientific exchange about the challenges of unravelling the mysteries underlying allergies.

Board Meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) in beautiful Antwerp 2025. Honored to be part of this powerful, collegial, and diverse Scientific Board shaping the future of cutaneous research in Europe and beyond.

When you are away on your birthday and then come back to the lab… Thank you, dear lab team!

Research Seminar at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Thanks Carmen Gerlach for the invitation and nice hospitality.

Our lab member Gianna graduated today with a terrific presentation of her doctoral project. Congratulations Dr. Rapp and all the best for your future.

Greatly enjoyed the private tour of Hong Kong University in Shenzhen with previous TUM student Lilly Jiangli. Looking forward to more collaborations to come.

Christmas market visit in Jena with my mentees of the National German Merit Foundation. I enjoyed the lively discussions with these exceptional students over a cup of “Glühwein”.

One highlight of my trip to Japan was the invitation to give a research seminar at Kyoto University and to visit the new beautiful research building of Tasuku Honjo (Nobel Prize 2018). No better motivation for my upcoming student lecture in Jena on checkpoint inhibitors

Congratulations to Alisa for winning the Science Slam of the yGBM (German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) in Jena!

Sometimes also the PI needs to get some mental support from the lab. Dear team, thank you!

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day with Janik. What a Jelly treat!

Paper celebration! After setting foot in tumor immunology the meals turn out greener than before.

Nature Immunology 2024

Not my everyday’s outfit. Enjoying a spectacular PhD defence in Utrecht as “Opponent”.

Congratulations Alisa for a very successful run representing the whole Infection Immunology Department of the Leibniz-HKI.

Excited host high school students from UniverSaale Jena in our department and to inspire these young curious minds for science and innovation.

Megaproud of this group of current and previous lab members who have been awarded with the medac Prize 2024 for their discoveries shown in Chao et al. Nat Immunol 2023.

What can I say. I love my team! Looking forward to the next birthday 😉

Christmas 2023 can come We have solved this year’s Christmas Mystery Game. Who would have thought that a UMAP can be so useful. Great team effort.

Group picture with our visiting PhD student Constanze from Helmholtz Center Munich. Very productive week of training the arts of human T cell cloning. Thanks to DFG-SFB1054 for funding the lab exchange.

Meeting with lab alumni and our collaborator Daniel in a Munich Beer Garden. Great Schnitzel, Great Kaiserschmarren and great fun.

Van Kinsbergen Advanced Immunology course 2023 while cruising on Wadden Sea -great scientific exchange with great students and faculty

Wow! Congratulations, HKI team, to your spectacular 3rd ranking at the “Jena Firmenlauf 2023”. Especially proud of the brave T cell lab team members for joining this event starting a lab team fun run culture.

Celebrating some recent success stories in the lab (paper publication, PhD student research award)

Humbled by this gift from the International Societies for Dermatological Sciences received in Tokyo 2023.

Today, we are welcoming our new lab toy, the Sony MA900 cell sorter. It will be dedicated to collaborative projects in infection research.

Nice to be back from conference travels! What a welcome with flowers, cake and happy team.

The Zielinski lab Christmas Party. So much fun and also challenges such as finally bringing our R coding skills into practice for the preparation of Glühwine and candy UMAPs.

Secret Santa has provided 24 little presents for the Zielinski lab. Excitement every day…

Enjoying Glühwein at Jena’s pretty Christmas Market.

Enjoying another lab milestone together with huge pizzas.

Closing an exciting year

Michael receiving a prize at the Annual Meeting of the German Flow Cytometry Society (DGfZ) 2022

Gianna presenting her doctoral thesis project at the Meeting of the German Society of Immunology 2022 in Hannover

Racing around with water filled balloons on our feet – fun time at our “Sommerfest”

The graphical abstract event of our Department of Infection Immunology revealed artistic talent among all participants and also tight connections between T cells and Harry Potter.

**(Very early) morning view from the postdoc office in our new research building – the absolutely gorgeous Biotech Center**

Great poster discussions at the CRC 1054-retreat on “Plasticity of cell fate decisions of the immune system” in Bad Kohlgrub, Bavaria.

Farewell dinner for Amy. Thanks for having been such a fantastic lab member. We will miss you and wish you lots of luck in France.

Lab boat trip on the river Saale

Celebrating Dr. Julia’s spectacular MD thesis defence.

Thanks, dear lab! Wonderful pink flowers.

What could make a lab supervisor more happy than such wonderful feedback!

Our new lab mascot is called Pongo and is critically watching our experiments.

Our new research building, the Biotech Center, close to be finished. So much space….

Dr. Chao, congratulations to your PhD! With your talent for science and amazing team spirit a promising career is ahead of you!

Julia Matthias at the center of media attention: Winner of the Egon Macher Prize 2020 for exceptional contributions to the field of dermatological sciences in Europe.

Lab hiking event

AG Zielinski T cell cake yummy!

Lab cakes – eaten up during happy and cosy lab times

**Welcoming our new lab instrument, the** **BD FACS Melody!**

Bavarian style after lab routine in the beer garden

Happy to have received the Ingrid zu Solms-Prize for Medicine in 2019. Honoured be be accepted as a member of the the Ingrid zu Solms-Foundation, which promotes women in science.