Sabine’s interest in molecular mechanisms led her to study natural sciences at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. There, she graduated in classical and molecular genetics, molecular biology and physiological botany, biochemistry, and medical microbiology/virology. Later, during her Ph.D. studies, she specialized in the molecular aspects of immunology, virology, and cell biology.

In the 90’s, besides the academic setting of the university, the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, the Max-von-Pettenkofer-Institute, and the Gene Center, the Munich campus also hosted a lively biotech startup environment. For Sabine this proved to be a very inspiring atmosphere.

Besides (molecular) genetics and botany, Sabine went for the molecular biology of pathogens. Thus, she joined a group working on retroviruses. This lab was brimming with enthusiasm for their research; there, Sabine experienced a work ethics that resembled her own, with long working hours while enjoying the company of like-minded scientists.

She stayed for a year to work together with Jörg – then a Ph.D. student in this lab. She was the first to modify virus like particles in a way that protected them from immunological attack by the human complement system. At this time, this constituted a major improvement of existing viral therapeutic vector systems. Thus, Sabine was the first student to be inventor on a patent at that time. Besides the international patent application, the work was also published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal – her first first-author paper.

This also constituted the beginning of a long standing scientific partnership: Sabine and Jörg are working together since 1997. They share their love for science, inventions, and innovation in general. This is the air they breathe.

After graduation from University, Sabine acquired research stipends of the University of Maryland and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States of America for her Ph.D. work. She joined a prime research program at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, to study the biology of lectins on dendritic cells, the mechanisms of HIV infection and transmission, and the viral interaction with the immune system. A part of her work resulted in a number of publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The program was characterized by a passion for science, love for the detail, precise and concise work, the absolute expectation of quality and the will to push scientific borders. The program’s researchers didn’t just work for science, they lived science every day.

Furthermore, Sabine had the chance to get into contact with many excellent leading senior scientists at meetings at Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, at the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD, in New York (Rochester University), Boston (Harvard University), and others in the US. There, she received encouraging feedback to her work, with several awards for research excellence. Her research made quite an impression on Nobel laureates in her field.

After five years Sabine returned to Germany to found the laboratory for Virus-Host-Interaction at the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft together with Jörg. Their international laboratory was funded exclusively by third party grants and funds that Sabine and Jörg acquired over the years. Both have been extremely successful and efficient in acquisition followed by high performance science in the laboratory.

In a major step ahead, Sabine and Jörg acquired a prestigious € 10.7 million grant of a foundation to found their project group Biological Operating Systems (B-OS), the precursor of a Fraunhofer Institute under their direction.

The B&B research team was thriving. However, in order to reach their research goals, Sabine and Jörg decided to leave the public research sector and to go on with their research in the private sector with their own company sajo.

The requirements for a successful business enterprise were already there: Sabine early on had learned the business and management of a company. She grew up in a company that dealt with numerous and diverse customers. Her first job was within her father’s company. Starting at school, she always worked for the company and later-on the company’s expansion. Her grandfather Ulrich and her father Josef led the company to the European top brand in its field. Thus, Sabine acquired success strategies and principles, which she is following up on continuously. A visionary view into the future is one of her talents, management and economy are two of her personal interests.

As leader of her research groups she had taught and educated numerous bachelor, master and Ph.D. students as well as technicians. Several of her students’ works had earned prizes. The laboratory work was of prime quality, the academic theses by her students always received high and highest marks. Sabine is combining both within her soul: She knows success strategies for enterprises from her childhood, and she is an enthusiastic and talented scientist, while being a down to earth person. She is giving captivating and motivating presentations about her scientific work and she loves the interaction and exchange with others.

Besides science, in her little spare time she loves music. Sabine is an avid and passionate pianist. She loves to play compositions by Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, and Scriabin. She also likes Jazz very much, as well as ballet, opera, musicals, rock, and pop concerts.

Further interests besides all around biology and its evolution, include new and high-end technologies and scientific discoveries, economy and philosophy and the fascination for the manifold cultures and traditional foods of the world. She keeps a collection of traditional recipes coming from her family’s history as well as modern recipes that she likes to cook. Sabine and Jörg also love to combine different styles to create a new internationally inspired cuisine.

Important to Sabine is a healthy lifestyle.

In addition, she likes trucks and fast innovative cars as well as vintage automobiles.

Sabine is excited about her research and loves to inspire others, she is considered a scientist by heart and a visionary. Sabine enjoys working with people of different backgrounds, who follow up on a common goal – focused.

Visit Dr. Sabine Breun at XING