I’m an evolutionary biologist working on Speciation and Conservation Genomics. I’m passionate about how populations’ genomes change over time and I want to apply my research to the mitigation of the current biodiversity crisis. Queer people, like other minorities, have been ridiculed, harassed, and pathologised by STEM. Building an intersectional community and support network within these fields is essential to change that. Other than overthrowing the system, I love foraging mushrooms, knitting, and trash metal.

Pronouns: she/her

“I truly feel that whether queer or straight, everyone suffers under heteronormativity. Being part of LGBTQ+ STEM Berlin and having found an ever-growing chosen family, I feel I play a small part in creating an environment where a younger me would feel safer and less ashamed.”

Born and raised in India, Raghav moved to Germany after finishing his Bachelors in Physics. After suffering a few cycles of seasonal depression and the Oktoberfest in Munich, he decided to pursue his postgraduate studies at Freie Universität Berlin for the sake of his mental health. His research primarily involves using expensive lasers to study cool rocks and convincing people how it’s important for the future of humanity. In the little free time that’s left, he likes to play boardgames (over a few drinks), go out partying (after a few drinks) and do LGBTQ+ movie marathons. Being part of the core team of LGBTQ+ STEM Berlin, he hopes to play a small part in creating a safer environment for the queer community.

“For me LGBTQ+ STEM Berlin represents a great opportunity to inspire a new generation of LGBTQ+ scientists and to help them build up supportive network in the STEM field, be it in academia or in the industry. I want us to be the LGBTQ+ mentors that we lacked in our early career years.’”

Originally from Colombia, Juan Castillo studied chemistry at the Free University of Berlin, did his PhD in Radiochemistry and further specialized in this field throughout his career. After his PhD, Juan Castillo has worked as a radiochemist in the medical imaging field at the Charité University Hospital, the TU Eindhoven and the University Hospital of Cologne. His love of Berlin (and of his husband) led him to come back to the city in 2020. Today, Juan Castillo works in Berlin in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on the clinical development phase of radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine applications, and is an active member of LGBTQ+ Stem Berlin.

“I see our group as an opportunity to add to Berlin’s wide range of communities by building our very own and giving LGBTQ+ STEM people a space to connect with each other.”

Torn between her love for physics and biology, Sarah Mäusle chose to study Molecular Life Science in Lübeck, Germany. During her Master’s studies, she discovered her affinity for biophysics. In 2017 she began working on her PhD at the Physics Department of the Freie Unviersität Berlin. Her research there is focused on using time-resolved single-frequency infrared spectroscopy to gain insights into the molecular mechanism of the water-splitting reaction in Photosystem II, which creates the oxygen we breathe. Sarah is passionate about feminism, including queer rights, and in 2019 she co-founded LGBTQ STEM Berlin with the hopes of increasing queer visibility in STEM and connecting queer people from STEM fields in Berlin.
Pronouns: She/Her.

“I’m part of this group to create community and increase visibility for LGBTQ+ people in STEM.”

Charly Brinkmann completed her undergraduate degree in molecular biology at the University of St Andrews and master’s in food security at the University of Glasgow. After completing studies, her she moved back to her home country to start a PhD. Charly works at the Leibniz institute for vegetable and ornamental crops (IGZ) in Großbeeren, studying plant pathogen interactions. She joined the core team in 2020.
Pronouns: She/Her