Dr. Kumsta earned her degree as a Diplom Biologist/M.Sc. and PhD from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. She performed her thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. Ursula Jakob at the University of Michigan. Dr. Kumsta joined Sanford Burnham Prebys and the lab of Malene Hansen as a postdoctoral fellow in 2009. In 2018 Caroline was promoted to Research Assistant Professor and then to Assistant Professor in 2021.
Education and Training
2018-2021: Research Assistant Professor
2016-2018: Staff Scientist, Development, Aging and Regeneration, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
2009-2016: Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Malene Hansen, Development, Aging and Regeneration, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
2009: Postdoctoral Associate with Dr. Ursula Jakob, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
2005-2008: Doctor rerum naturalium (PhD), magna cum laude Technical University of Munich, Germany Thesis research performed in the laboratory of Dr. Ursula Jakob at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
1999-2005: Diplom-Biologin Univ. (MS), with honors Technical University of Munich, Germany
Honors and Recognition
2015: Winner of the Biochemical Journal Best Oral Presentation Prize at the EMBO Workshop: The Regulation of Aging and Proteostasis
2013: Winner of award for the best oral presentation at the 12th Annual Poster Symposium at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
2012: Invitation and sponsorship from the Bavarian government to attend the first “Return to Bavaria” conference in Munich, Germany
2011: Recipient of the 2011 career development award “Lenka Musafia Finci Award” in recognition for outstanding research with great potential to help mankind from the Fishman Fund at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
2011: Grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds to attend the conference Protein Synthesis and Translational Control, Heidelberg, Germany
2008: Full fellowship from the Ellison Medical Foundation to attend Molecular Biology of Aging Laboratory Course, MBL, Woods Hole, MA
2007: Grant from BIF to attend the conference Biology of Aging, Stockholm, Sweden
2006-2008: PhD Fellowship from Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds
2006: Grant from BIF to attend the conference Molecular Genetics of Aging, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
2004: Diploma Thesis Fellowship from the Bayerische Forschungsstiftung (Bavarian Research Foundation)