Postdoc to PI: Pathways to Academic Independence in Germany
Date : 11th June 2026
Tm: 10:00am - 11:00am BST / 11:00am - 12:00pm CEST
Format: Webinar
This webinar focuses on the German academic career landscape, offering postdocs and early‑career researchers practical insight into how independence is achieved within Germany’s research system. Drawing on their own experiences, Drs Krabbe and Pakan will discuss pathways from postdoc to PI, including third‑party funded positions, institutional group leader roles, and tenure‑track professorships.
The session will explore what selection committees and funding bodies look for, how candidates can prepare competitive applications, and how career progression differs across universities and non‑university research institutes. The discussion will be framed through a candid, experience‑driven conversation led by the Scientifica host, followed by audience Q&A.
What will be covered?
- How the German academic hiring system works - and what makes it different
- What German panels look for when appointing new PIs
- How to demonstrate independence, funding potential, and departmental fit
- How applications are assessed, from CVs to shortlisting decisions
- What to expect from German interviews, job talks, and teaching requirements
Attendees will also be able to submit questions to the panel ahead of the event as part of the registration process or at the end of the webinar through a 15 minute Q&A session.
Who should attend?
- Postdoctoral researchers aiming to secure an independent academic position in the Germany
- Early-career researchers preparing to apply for PI roles or fellowships
- Researchers who want a clearer understanding of how German hiring decisions are made
Professor Janelle Pakan
Prof. Janelle Pakan is a systems neuroscientist whose international career spans leading research institutions in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Germany. After completing her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Alberta in Canada in 2009, she took up a series of Postdoctoral Fellowships, including a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship working with Prof. Nathalie Rochefort in Edinburgh in 2014. She then established her independent research group in 2017 at the Otto von Guericke University, where she developed a research program focused on how neural circuits integrate sensory information to guide behaviour.
In 2024, she was appointed W2 Professor of Circuit Neuroscience at the OVGU and Group Leader at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, supported by a Leibniz Programme for Women Professors award. Her work combines in vivo imaging, behavioural paradigms, and computational approaches to investigate how brain states shape perception, learning, and adaptive behaviour across distributed neural networks.
Beyond her research, she plays an active role in the European neuroscience landscape, contributing to collaborative initiatives and large-scale research consortia supported by the German Research Foundation. She serves on various academic boards and is involved in the training and mentorship of early-career researchers through graduate programs, summer schools, and international collaborations. Together, her career reflects a sustained trajectory of scientific leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, and investment in academic community building.
Prof. Janelle Pakan, Professor of Circuit Neuroscience, Otto‑von‑Guericke University Magdeburg & Group Leader, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), Magdeburg
Dr Sabine Krabbe
Dr Sabine Krabbe is a systems neuroscientist and Research Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, where she leads the “Functional Diversity of Neural Circuits” group. She studied Human Biology at Philipps University Marburg, specialising in neurobiology and immunology, before completing her doctorate in Natural Sciences/Neuroscience with work on dopaminergic dysfunction in schizophrenia. She then pursued postdoctoral research at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel and was a Visiting Scientist at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus in the United States.
Since establishing her independent group at DZNE in 2020, Dr Krabbe has developed a research programme centered on how neural circuits integrate internal states and environmental cues to guide behaviour, with a specific focus on learning and decision-making. Her work combines deep-brain calcium imaging, circuit manipulation, electrophysiology, anatomical and molecular approaches to understand the functional diversity of neural circuits, with particular relevance to early psychiatric dysfunctions in Parkinson’s disease. Her achievements include an ERC Consolidator Grant, a CZI Ben Barres Award and a recently awarded Helmholtz Professorship.
Dr Sabine Krabbe, Group Leader, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn
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