Head of Research Group
![Univ.-Prof. Dr. Silja Weßler Univ.-Prof. Dr. Silja Weßler](/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SW_06.jpg)
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Silja Weßler
AG-Leiterin, Professorin für Mikrobiologie
Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 / 8044-7210
E-Mail:
Senior Scientist
![Mag. Dr. Gernot Posselt Mag. Dr. Gernot Posselt](/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/G_Posselt_03.jpg)
Mag. Dr. Gernot Posselt
Senior Scientist
Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 / 8044-7211
E-Mail:
PostDoc
![Sebastian Diechler](https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Foto_SD.jpg)
Dr. Sebastian Diechler
PostDoc
Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 / 8044-7212
E-Mail:
Technical Assistance
![Daniel Ferner Daniel Ferner](https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Daniel-Ferner.jpg)
Christian Daniel Ferner
Technischer Assistent
Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 / 8044-7215
E-Mail:
PhD Students
![Saruchi Wadhwa Sabine Bernegger](https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IMG_20190706_144142-scaled.jpg)
Saruchi completed her undergraduate degree in microbiology from Gargi College, University of Delhi, India, in 2015. She was enrolled in the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research (A.C.B.R.), University of Delhi, India, for the master’s degree program in biomedical sciences, which was completed in 2017. She worked as a Research Fellow at Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, India, with a focus on the role of type II toxin-antitoxin systems in Mycobacterium tuberculosis persistence. She then worked as a senior research fellow at the CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), India, where she characterized the novel mutation in the PRKG2 gene responsible for acromesomelic skeletal dysplasia. As part of a three-month EMBO exchange program, she also worked at the University of Helsinki, Finland, where she learned gene editing of patient-specific mutations using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology in patient-derived iPSCs.
![Paul Wätzig](https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Paul-Waetzig.jpg)
Paul earned his Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) degree in 2016 from the Munich University of Applied Sciences. During his bachelor thesis, he worked at the Institute for Translational Cardiac Surgery at the German Heart Centre Munich, where he focused on investigating the direct reprogramming of murine primary fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor cells. For his Master’s studies, Paul moved to the Technical University of Munich, completing a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Molecular Biotechnology in 2024. As part of his academic journey, he undertook a six-month industrial internship in the Cell Technologies department at Roche in Penzberg and participated in a semester abroad at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon. His master thesis was conducted at the Institute of Molecular Oncology and Functional Genomics at TranslaTUM, where he worked on validating a CasRx-based lncRNA screening platform. In 2025, Paul joined Silja Weßler’s group, where his research focuses on developing organoid-based advanced infection models for carcinogenic pathogens.
MasterstudentInnen
![Vanessa Albert](https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vanessa-Albert.jpg)
Vanessa Albert
Masterstudent
Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 / 8044-7216
E-Mail:
![Mohamed Elattar](https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mohamed-Elattar.png)
Mohamed Elattar
Master Student
Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 / 8044-7216
E-Mail:
![Simon Tuchecker](https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Masterstudent-Simon-scaled.jpg)
Simon Tuchecker
Master Student
Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 / 8044-7216
E-Mail: