Gali Estopare Araguirang

Hi! My name is Gali and here is my story.

When I was six or seven years old, I wanted to be on Broadway — singing and pouring out my soul on stage every day. Two decades later, I still sing. But mostly in the shower. Or in the empty hallways of my institute. By heart, I am still a musical theater performer. But now I’m a plant scientist by profession. Currently, I’m a Postdoc at Hamburg University in Germany.

The Journey

I hail from a humble province in the Philippines called Sorsogon, which is at the southernmost tip of Luzon Island. After graduating from Sorsogon National High School (with Honorable Mention), I took a degree in Biology (Major in Cell and Molecular Biology) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) where I graduated Cum laude in 2013. While in college, I was an active student-leader in the university. I am an alumna of UP Sorsogueños, a former Secretary and Socio-Committee Head of the UP ECOSYSTEMSS (AY 2012-2013), former Secretary of the VetMed Residence Hall Student Council (AY 2011-2012), and former Councilor of the UPLB Graduate School Student Council (AY 2015-2016).

Prior to pursuing a Master of Science in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (minor in Botany), I worked as a University Research Associate under Professor Emeritus Macrina T. Zafaralla and at the Food and Feeds Laboratory of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (UPLB-BIOTECH). During the course of my Masters degree, I took Dr. Maribel L. Dionisio-Sese (former Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow and now Dean at UPLB) as my academic adviser and faculty mentor, who also opened many doors of opportunities for me as a scientist. I also became the Founder and Founding Executive Director (AY 2015-2016) of UP Broadway Company—the first recognized musical theater organization in UPLB. I remained as an active resident alumna to my other organizations while juggling my academic duties.

In 2016, I was invited to participate at the Winter School on Quantitative Systems Biology at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy as a Philippine delegate. Here I met a Nobel laureate, Eric Wieschaus of Princeton University, who was one of our lecturers. His passion for science really resonated with me that he has been an inspiration to me since then.

Four months later, I flew to Germany to conduct my Master’s Thesis at Prof. Dr. Alfred Batschauer’s Molecular Plant Physiology and Photobiology Laboratory at Philipps-Universität Marburg. I was really thankful to Prof. Batschauer for accepting me in his lab and believing in me despite having little practical experience (or a lack thereof) on plant protein photobiochemistry.

In 2018, I was accepted as a TIGP-IIP intern for 2 months at the Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica in Taiwan under the laboratory of Dr. Yuki Nakamura (former EMBO Young Investigator and Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow), who is now based in RIKEN, Japan. During my internship, Yuki opened a one-year Research Assistantship position exclusively just for me so I could further work on my projects.

After staying in Taiwan for around 1.5 years, I moved to Germany in September 2019 as an IMPRS student under the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm. Then I moved to the Richter Lab in October 2020 at Humboldt University in Berlin (with Prof. Bernhard Grimm’s lab). In the Spring of 2021, the whole lab moved to the University of Rostock (with Prof. Martin Hagemann’s lab).

In August 2024, I transitioned as a bridging postdoc in Biochemistry in Prof. Dr. Marco Trujillo’s lab at RWTH Aachen University.

One year later, on July 4, 2025, I successfully defended my PhD at the University of Rostock.

Then, after a little over a year in Aachen, I continued my position as a postdoc in Marco’s lab as the group moved to the University of Hamburg in October 2025.

The Scientist

In my pursuit of new academic heights, I also realized that I love science communication. I find joy and fulfillment in oral and poster presentations, which I think are two of my strongest suits. With my experiences in public speaking (which began when I was still in Grade School) and performing on stage, speaking in front of an audience is not something I am apprehensive about.

As someone with an insatiable desire for new knowledge, I am also enthusiastic whenever I engage myself in scientific discussions. I always believe that occasions like these are vital parts of doing good research because they serve as great avenues for sharing and exchanging new knowledge.

Here are also some other fun facts about me: (1) I have already been featured in two well-respected journals as recognitions of my achievements; (2) I have a library of the books I own (check my personal library); (3) I love watching anime and reading mangas; (4) I enjoy Korean dramas; and (5) I really like dressing up every day and wearing ribbons and floral dresses (check my OOTDs).

The Vision

I am fortunate enough to have had great mentors throughout my academic career. Their guidance really fueled my goal to be a professor too and establish my own research group one day. However, beyond this personal aspiration, I have always strived for visibility, constantly searching for platforms and fighting for spaces where I can speak for my inner truth and establish my own unique identity within the scientific community.

In recent years, my sense of purpose has become bigger than my fears. I learned to muster the courage to break free from my invisible box. I realized that the next generation of aspiring scientists needs more role models to fully embrace the idea that science is not confined by stereotypes nor preconceived notions — that scientists can come in a multitude of forms, transcending barriers of race, gender, and cultural backgrounds. As Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi tirelessly advocates, science needs diversity and inclusivity because it flourishes on a spectrum of perspectives that diverse scientists bring to the table.