Project Description

Janina Kueper, MD

Biography

Janina graduated from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin with a medical degree and doctorate in skeletal muscle tissue engineering in 2018/2019. She developed a taste for American residency while performing a clinical research fellowship in spinal reconstruction at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC in 2014. Janina spent 2018-2021 in Boston working on two distinct projects: experimenting with iPSC at the Center for Regenerative Medicine to explore the mechanisms behind congenital craniofacial anomalies, and designing and analyzing surveys at the PROVE center to understand COVID-19 related stigma. She received an AM in medical anthropology from Harvard University in 2021 and remains an MD/Ph.D. candidate in stem cell biology and human genetics at the University of Bonn, Germany. She is a Divemaster with PADI, enjoys holding her breath (both literally and figuratively), and an aficionado of jazz, martial arts, literature, opera, dance, and the underwater world.

Why Pitt?

The people, the breadth and depth of clinical training, and the support for independent research.

Awards

  • Cannon Scholarship, AAPS 2022, San Diego, USA
  • Travel Award (GRS Presentation Prize), Craniofacial Gordon Conference, Italy, 2020
  • Shriner Hospital for Children Research Fellowship, Boston, USA 2020
  • NIH-sponsored Travel Grant, NeurIPS, Vancouver, BC, Canada 2019
  • Early Career Scientist Attendance Grant, Company of Biology Workshop, UK, 2019
  • ERP-Fellowship, Marshall Fund, Ministry of Energy and Development, Germany, 2018
  • Young Scientist Attendance Grant, Lindau Nobel Laureate Summit, Germany, 2018
  • Leader of Tomorrow, St. Gallen Symposium (AI in Medicine), Switzerland, 2018

Publications

Janina has published and presented research on spinal surgery, tissue engineering, stem cell biology, zebrafish models, human genetics, medical anthropology, and plastic surgery.

Areas of Interest

Janina’s clinical interests are yet to be determined. Her research interests include stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, human genetics, developmental biology, patient-reported outcomes, machine learning, and ethnography. She has a strong desire to initiate and participate in collaborative, patient-centered interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary projects.