Franziska Feller

Research

Thanks to the help of the Prof. Dr. Bingel-Stiftung and the DAAD-Stiftung, I had the opportunity last year to work on my research topic, the bacterial degradation of steroids, at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada for three months as part of my doctoral thesis.

At UBC, I was able to work in the group of Prof. William W. Mohn under the supervision of Dr. Johannes Holert. This group has been working on the bacterial degradation of steroid compounds for a long time, although with a somewhat different focus to my own research, in particular on different steroid compounds and different methods, which I had the opportunity to learn during my stay. The UBC team uses bioinformatics methods that are not yet used at my home institute. For my thesis and its current questions, in particular with regard to the practical ecological processes and complex interconnections in the soil, these bioinformatics methods were the logical next step, so that I was able to advance on critical points of my research during my stay.

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The concrete subject of my research was the bacterial degradation of bile acids. Bile acids are steroid compounds formed in vertebrates from cholesterol and then secreted into the digestive tract after food intake, where they help with the digestion of fats and fat-soluble food components. Although bile acids are recycled in the body to a large degree by being re-absorbed and re-used, a portion of them is excreted.

Both within the intestine and in the environment, bile acids come into contact with bacteria that can change their structure. In Vancouver, I had the chance to use bioinformatics to look for proteins in genomes and metagenomes (for which the entire DNA of an environmental sample is analysed, not just the DNA of a single organism) which code for proteins that change bile acids. In the process, we were able to find corresponding genes in some types of bacteria which had not been previously known to contain such proteins. In addition, based on such a data base of new proteins, we were able to create “tools” with which those proteins can be located in the complex metagenomes.

Country and people

Since I wanted to learn as much as possible, I worked a lot during my time in Vancouver, but I did have time occasionally to take a look around. Even though Vancouver and the metropolitan area around it are quite large, big parts of it did not strike me as a typical big city but rather reminded me of US American suburbs with lots of single-family homes and well-kept front yards. People in Vancouver were very friendly and much more polite than what we are used to in Germany. It was a bit unusual to be asked “How are you?” quite regularly, though unlike in Germany one is not expected to give an answer. Apart from this politeness, I found few typically Canadian things, as even the definition of “Canadian” is very difficult given the nation’s complex history of immigration. Especially Vancouver and UBC have a strong international and intercultural character.

I was pleasantly surprised time and time again how well this multicultural aspect works there, how matter-of-factly diversity is accepted and how patient the locals were with my questions, for example explaining to me a menu that was entirely in Cantonese. I was lucky to live in a shared apartment with four women from four other countries, which led to wonderful discussions about a wide range of topics, with the various cultural backgrounds resulting in lots of input from different perspectives and a multitude of new insights.

Aside from the city and the people, the incredible natural beauty of the country was absolutely fascinating. Wilderness starts right at the edge of town, which is a very unfamiliar concept for someone from Germany (in particular from the Ruhr basin) with its managed forests and largely farmed open areas. During excursions to certain mountains and islands I saw breathtaking scenery and environments; it is incredibly beautiful.

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In some spots I expected to see bears in the streams fishing for salmon, just like you see in films. There are in fact places where you can see such sights, although unlike some of my acquaintances I was not “lucky” enough to run into a bear. The forests around Vancouver are considered rainforests because of the wet climate, which makes for impressive flora and fauna with fascinating sights of trees completely overgrown with moss and ferns, and makes the entire area green. Since the streets in Vancouver mostly run straight through the entire city, you could always see a great distance and usually there were mountains at the end of the street. This unique combination of a city immediately surrounded by forested mountains and adjoining the Pacific ocean with its many islands off the coast is absolutely fascinating. The UBC campus is located on a peninsula with direct access to the ocean and a few beaches, so it is also situated amid spectacular beauty.

Franziska Feller made use of her time outside of unversity to soak up the atmosphere of Vancouver

I made countless new acquaintances during my free time, especially through sporting activities, as such common interests greatly simplify and intensify new contacts. I believe that I will stay in touch with many of my new friends for a long time. At the academic level as well, I was able to make several new contacts which I hope will be long-term because of our common research topic. Apart from that, I met inspiring researchers who have achieved a great deal or are incredibly motivated and interested, not only in their own subjects and methods.

Conclusion

Overall, this stay was a dream come true, because I got to know a part of Canada with fascinating scenery and great people, but above all because I was able to advance my research for my doctoral thesis with such exciting new insights into bioinformatics. Over these three months, I learned a lot in areas that have always interested me and really progressed in my research. Working with the researchers in Canada, I was also able to develop some initial ideas for further collaborations, got to know new people at the personal and academic level and share ideas with them on many different topics, gaining ever new perspectives from the different professional or cultural backgrounds that made our discussions so much more interesting.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Prof. Dr. Bingel-Stiftung and the DAAD-Stiftung for making this stay possible. Thank you very much!