Saskia Stenzel obtained her BSc in Biology at the Freie Universität of Berlin in 2018, working on multi-resistant staphylococcus aureus. She progressed onto a master’s focussing on molecular and cell biology including courses for immunology and virology, which sparked an interest in infectious diseases and specifically viruses. In 2019, Saskie started a research internship in Prof. Christine Goffinet’s lab working on HIV-1 latency reversal. Due to the pandemic and the urgent need for research in the field of human pathogenic coronaviruses, she continued with a master’s project on SARS-CoV-2 and the susceptibility to innate immune response factors. After completing her master’s in 2021, she started a PhD in Prof. Goffinet’s group. Currently, Sakia is working as a Research Assistant in the department of Tropical Disease Biology, at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Using complex lung cell models, functional assays and reverse genetics, Saskia's current research focuses on investigating the efficiency and characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission modes: cell-free virus particle transmission and direct cell-to-cell contact transmission. Understanding these modes is crucial for developing effective therapeutic strategies and vaccines, as cell-to-cell transmission may accelerate viral spread and aid in immune evasion, especially in cell-dense respiratory tissues.