Born in Germany, Laura moved to the UK in 2002 and later went on to study biochemistry at Imperial College London. In 2007 she joined the Dantuma lab to perform her master's project on valosin-containing protein/p97 and its involvement in the degradation of proteasome substrates. After successful completion of her degree in London, she returned as a PhD student the following year. Laura's main research interest lies in the molecular basis of neurodegenerative disorders. For her PhD project, she studies the role of intracellular proteolysis in the polyglutamine disease spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA). Her PhD project is co-supervised by Nico Dantuma at the Karolinska Institute and Kenneth Fischbeck at NIH/NINDS in Bethesda. Besides science and travelling, Laura likes photography, books, arts, crafts and spicy foods. She also enjoys various outdoor sports, such as skiing, running, tennis and windsurfing.