Ulla Schellhaas is a biochemist and a recent PhD graduate from the labs of Clemens Plaschka and Stefan Ameres. During her time at the IMP, she specialised in RNA biology with a focus on the export mechanisms of messenger RNA. She’s now seeking opportunities in industry, aiming to blend hands-on research with strategic decision-making to contribute to projects that positively impact society.
What’s your story?
I started out studying biotechnology at Jacobs University [now Constructor University] in Bremen, Germany, but I soon switched to biochemistry and cell biology, which is where my scientific journey really began. I first realised I wanted to be a scientist during my bachelor’s, thanks to some really great and inspiring lectures that I had during those first semesters at university. Later, I began a master’s program at ETH Zurich but I soon found myself inspired by the unique research environment of the Vienna BioCenter and decided to move there. I joined a master’s a in molecular and structural biology at the University of Vienna, and never looked back. I was drawn to the collaborative research environment of the Vienna BioCenter that I had heard so much of. Plus, the idea of working alongside talented researchers and contributing to cutting-edge projects really excited me.
What was your main motivation in your educational and research journey?
I’ve always loved moving to different places and getting to know and work with amazing people. When you look at my scientific path throughout all my experiences, you’ll see that the topics I explored varied quite a bit. They were always in the realm of molecular biology and biochemistry, but I focused on different model organisms and fundamental questions. The research topics I contributed to were focused on understanding basic molecular mechanisms, and I was excited to be able to work in groups where we supported and enabled each other's work.
What did you do at the Vienna BioCenter?
I worked with both Clemens Plaschka at the IMP and Stefan Ameres at the Max Perutz Labs. I first joined Clemens’ lab as an intern, where I learned how to engineer human cell lines—skills that became central to my research during both my master’s and PhD. In my project, I generated CRISPR-engineered human cell lines to study how messenger RNA functions within the cell nucleus. Using these engineered cells, we were able to disrupt and analyse nuclear mRNA processes through sequencing, an area where Clemens' lab just started to dive into at the time. This led to a collaboration with Stefan, who was developing SLAM-seq, a time-resolved RNA sequencing method, which fit perfectly with our research goals. I then continued with my PhD under both Clemens and Stefan, focusing on understanding the kinetics and mechanism of mRNA export.
What was your PhD project about?
In my PhD research, I focused on measuring how long it takes for mRNA to be synthesised in the cell nucleus and exported to the cytosol. We looked at whether certain proteins involved in mRNA processing and export are essential for the export of all mRNAs, and to what extent these proteins can accelerate the process. To do this, I used CRISPR-engineered cell lines with degron tags to rapidly deplete target proteins, along with techniques like subcellular fractionation and SLAM-seq to analyse their roles in mRNA export. I also employed a reporter system to validate important interactions between key players in the process in human cells. This work is now available as a preprint on BioArchive
It was really rewarding to apply the methods I developed not only to my original question, but also to help answer others along the way.
What were some of the most rewarding or memorable aspects of your PhD experience?
I had a great time at the IMP. I learned so much, from engineering human cell lines—which was completely new to me—to setting up, testing, and validating different combinations of methods so we could answer new questions. One of the coolest things we’re now able to do is measuring the speed of how quickly mRNAs are exported from the nucleus and we finally have a tool to investigate what underlies the different mRNA export kinetics we observe. What I find really exciting is that, together with other projects in the lab, we’ve made great contributions to understanding how mRNA export works.
Another highlight for me was definitely being able to work on a variety of projects. It was really rewarding to apply the methods I developed not only to my original question, but also to help answer others along the way. That was really nice—I was shared between two labs during my PhD, which was great because it expanded the number of people I could interact with, and that definitely helped with my science.
How would you describe yourself as a professional?
At my core, I’m a molecular biologist and biochemist, and I’m really passionate about approaching different questions from a molecular perspective. Throughout my career, I’ve gained a lot of knowledge in RNA biology, from the biochemical side to more sequencing-based approaches. And I’m always eager to keep expanding my expertise and apply it to new, impactful challenges.
What would you like to do in the future?
I just got back from a couple of weeks in Germany, where my sister got married, so I spent some time with family and friends. It was great to hang out and relax for a bit after my PhD defence. Now, I’m looking for new, exciting problems to solve and tasks to tackle in research. I’m really interested in hands-on research in industry—I’d love to see how things work in a setting different from academia. But I’m also curious about how strategic decisions are made, like figuring out the next direction to take in a project. In the end, I’d like my next role to contribute to discovering something new that can benefit people—whether it’s in a disease context or on a larger, societal scale.
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Interested in Ulla’s profile? Contact her at ulla.schellhaas@imp.ac.at or linkedin.com/in/ulla-schellhaas-192707179/