- Last Thursday was a day that will be hard to forget. Despite the characteristically cold Hanseatic morning, the lecture theatre at the UKE was buzzing with people who came to watch Maryam Tohidi, my very first PhD student, defending her work.
- Maryam breezed through her presentation with ease and answered some difficult questions with confidence (even used the whiteboard to sketch some answers!).
- At the end, surrounded by her friends, Maryam rose to reflect on the difficult days she and her family back in Iran had been through in the last few weeks.Jan 24, 2026 19:43
- Maryam’s brother, who went the extra mile (in fact, miles) so that he could attend the defence online, crowned this moment with a few gentle and proud words, heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
- A seismic wave of applause marked the end of Maryam’s PhD journey, the end of the beginning. Congratulations Dr @maryamtohidi.bsky.social !!!
- With special thanks to Christoph Korn and @sgluth.bsky.social for serving on the committee and ensuring everything ran so smoothly.
