Management
Dirk Vollenbroich, PhD
Managing Director and founder of Minerva Biolabs GmbH
He studied biotechnology at the Beuth University and acquired a doctorate in biochemistry from the Technical University of Berlin. He gained invaluable experience within the field of molecular diagnostics during his research work at the Robert Koch Institute and at the Louisiana State University Medical Center. He leads the company since its inception in 1999.
Nicola Schulte
Head of Administration and Logistics
Nicola was trained as a Commercial Correspondent in English and Spanish and is responsible for sales and all administrative matters, as well as financial affairs of the company. With her further professional training as Multimedia Marketing Assistant, she is a welcomed source of support to our marketing Department. Her comprehensive qualifications include in particular, international logistics and handling and transport of hazardous materials.
Nicole Paland, PhD
Head of Product Development
Dr rer nat Paland studied biochemistry at University of Potsdam and University College London and earned her doctorate at Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin. As a postdoc at Weizmann Institute of Science and Technion in Israel, she studied the microenvironment of human cells and the influence of immunological messengers on the initiation and progression of certain diseases.
As project manager in product development since 2021, she became head of product development in September 2022.
Nico Ruf, PhD
Head of Production
Dr Ruf graduated in biotechnology at the TU Berlin. He received his PhD in molecular genetics and gained substantial expertise in DNA and RNA based analyses. He did his postdoc in the Laboratory of Developmental Genetics and Imprinting at the renowned Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK.
In 2012, he changed from academia to biotech industry, where he worked as laboratory director for a service provider of molecular genetic analyses. Dr. Ruf joined Minerva Biolabs in October 2014.
Julia Hillebrand
Head of Marketing and Sales
Julia acquired her professional qualifications through education as a biological-technical assistant at the Lette-Verein in Berlin and years of collaboration in the production and quality control department in our company. After studying business administrations Julia became responsible for the management of our national and international partners in 2013. She is the first contact for all re-sales inquiries.