Carina Dey - Secondment from RWTH to HPI

Dr. Carina Dey from the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, conducted her secondment at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute (HPI) in Athens, Greece. The secondment was divided into two periods, in May and October 2026, and hosted by Dr. Niki Vassilaki.

During her stay, Carina was involved in the characterization of plant-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) from different plant sources. Her work focused on determining EV concentrations using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) in preparation for subsequent immunogenicity assays using human cells.

Furthermore, she evaluated the suitability of NTA for quantifying samples of the rod-shaped Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and the filamentous plant virus Potato virus X (PVX). This allowed her to assess the applicability of NTA to different sample types and to adapt the methodology to the specific requirements of EV and plant virus research.

The secondment also provided Dr. Dey with valuable opportunities to exchange knowledge with experienced researchers in the field of nanoparticle characterization. These interactions further strengthened her understanding of NTA-based EV characterization and provided insights into adapting measurement workflows to different types of samples.