Franziska Hentzschel
Franziska Hentzschel is a junior group leader in the parasitology division of Heidelberg University Hospital. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at the Technical University of Munich, Franziska majored in infectious diseases for her master’s degree at Heidelberg University. She continued her doctoral studies at Heidelberg University where she developed genetic tools to study the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium. After her PhD, she joined the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology in Glasgow on a DFG-funded postdoctoral fellowship, where she implemented host-parasite single-cell RNA sequencing to explore how the parasite adapts to different host niches.
In 2023, Hentzschel established her own junior research group at Heidelberg University, focusing on the molecular mechanisms governing the formation of male Plasmodium gametes and their role in the parasite's development within the mosquito. Her research aims to elucidate the processes of DNA segregation during male gametogenesis, the genetic intricacies of Plasmodium’s mosquito stages, and the early replication events in oocyst development. Recently, she was awarded a starting grant by the European Research Council (ERC) to study a protein complex implicated in parasite reproduction in its mosquito host.
