complete all steps of the work himself — from producing the sybodies to their analysis and testing — with support pro- vided by the team in a very approachable manner. This practical experience, with all the methods he learned, was instrumental in helping him quickly find a job as a re- search assistant at the Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering (BIIE) after complet- ing his master’s degree — although he explains that there weren’t that many entry-level positions advertised. “The in- terview at the BIIE was primarily about the areas of practical work where I’ve al- ready gained experience. I was lucky to get to know bio-layer interferometry very well through my work at BÜHLMANN,” he says in our interview. cessfully but also that some variants do so up to 1,000 times stronger than indi- vidual sybodies. Amazingly, the sybodies bind to the natural hemoglobin better than to a recombinant hemoglobin pro- duced in the lab. “We’ve taken the first step toward a replacement for natural antibodies, although there’s still a need for many further experiments and adap- tations,” says Raphael, summarizing his work. Changes after a great time at university For Raphael, the prize for the best mas- ter’s thesis is another great thing to emerge from his thoroughly enjoyable time at BÜHLMANN Laboratories. He particularly liked that he could For his master‘s thesis, Raphael Pauli worked at BÜHLMANN Laboratories, where he received excellent guidance from Sara Bantleon. 5 SNI INSight June 2026