© Crispin-Iven Mokry / TUD
June 19, 2025
As part of the SECAI Fast Track Program
Ella Cassidy and Claas de Boer, both now doctoral students at Leipzig University and TU Dresden respectively, are among the talented individuals supported by the SECAI scholarship program. The support they received not only provided financial relief, but also included targeted mentoring, creating ideal conditions for them to embark on their scientific careers. Today, Ella is conducting research in Prof. Sonja Prohaska's working group in the field of computational evolutionary and developmental biology, and Claas is working in Prof. Stefanie Speidel's working group for translational surgery on vision-language models for surgical procedures.
Originally from Ireland, Ella Cassidy studied biotechnology at the University of Galway (formerly NUI Galway) and then went on to complete a master's degree in evolutionary genomics and systems biology at the University of Vienna. She completed her master's thesis at the University of Leipzig in Prof. Peter Stadler's research group, where she also learned about the SECAI Fast Track Program. “I saw it as a great chance to deepen my research experience, and it turned out to be extremely beneficial,” Ella says. In particular, the scholarship enabled her to make a smooth transition from her master's degree to her doctorate. Her current research in the Computational Evo-Devo working group under Prof. Sonja Prohaska builds on the background in bioinformatics and evolutionary biology she acquired during her master's degree.
Claas de Boer completed both his bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science at TU Dresden and conducted research for his master's thesis under the supervision of Prof. Stefanie Speidel at the NCT Dresden in the Department of Translational Surgical Oncology. During the last two semesters of his master's program, he intensified his research at the chair as part of the fast-track program and laid the foundation for his doctoral position. “The transition to my doctorate was seamless – I received the offer for my current position while I was still working on my master's thesis,” says Claas. Since he was already familiar with the research environment at the NCT/UKD and TU Dresden and felt comfortable there personally, the decision to stay in Dresden was an easy one. He is currently researching vision-language models for surgical applications – a topic he was already able to build on during his master's thesis on the segmentation of surgical instruments.
Scholarships in SECAI
SECAI scholarships are designed to support outstanding students pursuing studies in the interdisciplinary field of Artificial Intelligence at TU Dresden or Leipzig University. The SECAI’s PhD Fast Track scheme combines financial support with targeted mentoring towards a position in research. The additional funding allows students to focus on their research work, which is especially valuable during the final semester’s thesis work. Promising students are integrated into SECAI research groups, both physically (at a workplace in a group lab or office) and organizationally (in meetings and group activities) allowing a smooth transition.
