Sophia Ohnemus, PhD

Sophia is a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Cardiac Optogenetics at the Institute of Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine in Freiburg, Germany. The institute is a hub for interdisciplinary cardiovascular research affiliated with the University Hospital of Freiburg. With an MSc in physics focused on computational physics, she uses simulations in her doctoral research to explore the effects of optogenetic defibrillation on cardiac electrophysiology. During her research stay at the CardSS lab, Sophia gained expertise in three-dimensional simulations of human left ventricular electrophysiology with optogenetic stimulation. This work resulted in her first-author paper, “Channelrhodopsin ion selectivity determines mechanisms and efficacy of optogenetic defibrillation in human atria and ventricles,” which has been accepted at The Journal of Physiology and is available as a preprint on bioRxiv (DOI: 10.64898/2026.05.11.724228).

Beyond her academic pursuits, Sophia enjoys drawing and hiking.