From PhD to Scientific Illustrator  at Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry (DEU)

With Margot Riggi, PhD 

Margot is a Project Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry (Martinsried, Germany), where she uses 3D animation to build dynamic, integrative models that capture current hypotheses on diverse molecular and cellular processes. These animations are not only a powerful means to inspire and engage scientists and non-scientists alike, but can also significantly contribute to research by supporting hypothesis exploration and scientific discourse: the challenge of integrating sparse, heterogeneous datasets into one seamless movie often reveals gaps and differences in individual hypotheses, helps generate new ideas and design future experiments to test them. 

Margot received a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Geneva (Switzerland), where she studied the regulation of plasma membrane tension by TORC2 under the co-supervision of Robbie Loewith and Aurelien Roux. She then specialized in scientific visualization and modeling, obtaining a Masters in Biomedical Communications from the University of Toronto (Canada), and receiving further training in 3D molecular animation as a postdoc in the group of Janet Iwasa at the University of Utah (Salt Lake City, USA).