A few questions to Dr. rer. nat. Kerstin Menck, University of Münster

You have been recently elected as the new president of GSEV . How does this position suit you?

Menck: Being the second GSEV president after Bernd Giebel is quite a challenge! However, I am very grateful for the opportunity to actively shape the developments in this still young research field, in which I have been involved since the beginning. In general, I believe the strength of our society lies in its welcoming, inclusive, and dynamic nature. These are also the attributes I am representing and want to further promote.

What were the most important achievements during the first months?

Menck: To understand the expectations and wishes of our members, we conducted a survey that was published in the last Trillium edition. It revealed that our members seek more frequent exchanges, increased collaboration and networking, and greater support for junior scientists. Accordingly, we have focused on these requests.
To bring the community closer together, we decided to organize a large national GSEV meeting this year in Hamburg. We secured support from the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS), the German Society for Cell Biology (DGZ), and the Society for Virology (GfV), whose presidents and/or board members accepted our invitation to attend and participate in discussions.
To further promote our young EV researchers, we introduced the new GSEV paper award and organized the first workshop for junior scientists in Marburg last year. We have also prioritized regular communication with the community: we now publish a regular newsletter to keep everyone updated about society news. As a result, we observed a more than tenfold increase in followers on our GSEV social media channels (particularly LinkedIn and X) within the last year. This is very encouraging for us, as it reflects our growing community and shows that it is worthwhile to intensify our efforts in this direction.

Why do you think working on extracellular vesicles is important and which research field are you mostly interested in?

Menck: I am primarily interested in the biology of EVs and their relevance to human pathologies, particularly cancer. In recent years, several elegant studies have confirmed in vivo what many of us have long hypothesized: EVs secreted by tumor cells are crucial not only at the site of primary tumor growth but also in preparing niches for tumor metastasis. This strongly underscores their relevance to disease progression. However, we still do not fully understand how EVs achieve specificity in target recognition, how cargo delivery works, or how we could exploit these processes therapeutically. As you can see, there are still many questions for us to solve, which is the exciting part of science!

When entering the EV field as a young investigator what was your greatest challenge until now?

Menck: When I started my PhD on EVs in breast cancer in 2010, there were only a handful of papers on this topic and no scientific congresses where I could discuss my work. I often felt like the odd one out at the big cancer conferences, trying to convince people that EVs really DO exist! That's why I was so happy to attend the first big international EV congress in Gothenburg in 2012 and witness the foundation of the international EV community. Now, I no longer have to convince anyone of the existence of EVs; instead, I can discuss my favorite topic with others who are just as passionate about these small particles as I am.

What do you enjoy outside of your scientific work and how much time do you have for these activities?

Menck: I am an absolute sports fan. For me, sports provide the perfect balance to the many hours I spend sitting at my desk. My heart especially beats for volleyball, both indoor in winter and on the beach court in summer. I also enjoy swimming, hiking, and cycling—cycling is particularly nice in the Münster area with its lack of mountains! Of course, I don’t have enough time for all these activities, but does anyone ever have enough free time for their hobbies?

What is your favourite joke?

Menck: I am not such a fan of typical jokes, but I love comedy shows. My favourite ones are “Scrubs”, “The Big Bang Theory” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”.

Which recent book or film can you recommend?

Menck: I really enjoyed reading “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus. The book is set in the 1950s and tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, who is driven out of research by her male colleagues. She then takes her scientific expertise to the public as the host of a cooking show. The story vividly illustrates how difficult it was for women in science at that time and provides incredible motivation to not let others dissuade you from your goals. It’s absolutely worth reading!