Life in Academia: Lessons Learned Along the Way with Sonja Billerbeck

​Summary
In this talk, Dr. Sonja Billerbeck will share insights from her journey in academia, reflecting on the experiences, challenges, and opportunities that shape an academic career. Drawing on her path from doctoral training and postdoctoral research to establishing her own research group, she will discuss lessons learned along the way, including navigating career transitions, building collaborations, and developing an independent research vision. The seminar will offer a candid perspective on life in academia and the evolving landscape of research in synthetic biology and bioengineering.


About Sonja Billerbeck
Sonja Billerbeck is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. Her research focuses on synthetic biology and microbial engineering, particularly using yeast and other microbes to develop new tools for biotechnology and antifungal strategies.

​Dr. Billerbeck holds a Master’s degree in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the University of Tübingen in Germany and a PhD in Bioengineering from ETH Zürich in Switzerland. She then carried out postdoctoral research in yeast synthetic biology at Columbia University in New York.

​In 2019, she joined the University of Groningen in the Netherlands as an Assistant Professor, where she was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2024. She joined Imperial College London in January 2025.