Whenever I need stories that do not portray people living with chronic conditions as ‘patients’ or ‘sufferers,’ but as people that face their illness with courage, strength, and hope, I give Karina a call and reserve the front page.
Raoul Mazhar – Editor-in-chief Austrian Ärzte Woche
Education
September 2002 – June 2006
Three year standardized education as medical assistant and permanent position in medical offices:
Dr. Bauer/ Ehrengut/ Wonka in Neumarkt, Germany
Final grade: 1.33 (resembles grade A)
Exam: 1.7 (resembles grade B)
Main focus:
- Care for complex, mostly chronically ill patients
- Guidance and examination of diabetic patients
- Diagnostic testing such as ECG, geriatric diagnostics, vital parameters, cancer screening
- Assistance during outpatient surgeries
- Phlebotomy, injections
- Responsible for office hygiene
September 2006 – July 2009
Three year standardized study as laboratory technician at the Staatliche Berufsfachschule B8 in Nürnberg, Germany
Final grade: 1.04 (resembles 21 subjects with grade A, one subject with grade B)
Exam: 1.3 (grade A)
Resulted in admission to a program that supports students with extraordinary talents
August 2009 – December 2012
Department Biology, Chair of Biotechnology, University of Erlangen Prof. Yves Muller
Researching bacterial effector proteins, in particular SiiE from Salmonella
Main focus:
- Chromatography
- Cultivation of bacterial expression systems
- Protein biochemistry and crystallography
- Lectures and presentations
- Lab management
- Support for students
- Documentation and review of results in scientific publications
2013 – today
Disabled due to illness
Freelance journalist and award-winning filmmaker
My work centers around medicine, science, chronic illness and disability with a focus on the accurate representation of people with disabilities.
January 2018 – 2020
Edinburgh Napier University; Masters of Arts with distinction in international journalism for media professionals
Winner of the class medal for outstanding journalistic and academic work
Projects
2021 – 2022: Book: ”Ratgeber Ehlers-Danlos-Syndrome” published by Springer Nature
2021 – Ongoing: #AbleismusToetet (www.ableismus.de) – Journalistic research project uncovering violence towards people with disabilities in German care facilities, project lead and editor-in-chief since 2023
2022 – Ongoing: Book: ”Stoppt Ableismus!” will be published by Rowohlt in January 2024
2023 – Ongoing: Die Neue Norm Podcast
Extracurricular Activities
2014 – Ongoing: Advocate for people living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (Blog, podcast, speaking engagements, social media presence, books, book chapters, networking across the globe, peer counseling); supporting SOS Kinderdorf.
2020 – Ongoing: Editor-in-Chief (Curating Chronic Pain Partners (a US non-profit organization) monthly newsletter; leading a team of 10 writers; producing original content in text, video and audio)
2022 – Ongoing: Supporting the disability right organization AbilityWatch e. V. (Germany) and Sozialhelden e. V. (Germany)
2023 – Ongoing: Board Member of the Connective Tissue Coalition (USA) and active member of the Deutsche Ehlers-Danlos Initiative e. V. (Germany)
2017 – 2021: Volunteer at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco (Visiting residents as part of the Activity Department)
2023: Judge for the Kathrine Schneider Journalism Award
Courses and qualification
Distance study – Journalism SGD (Studiengemeinschaft Darmstadt) (grade 1; resembles A)
Languages
German (native speaker)
English: TOEFL Score 119/120 (2017)
Skills
MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point)
Apple Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie
Basic HTML
FileZilla, OsiriX, Scrivener
WordPress (built eight WP sites so far)
Social Media (design and management of the accounts of two magazines)
YouTube
Video production including filming & editing; closed captions & descriptive audio
Podcasting
Blogging, SEO
Editing
Academic writing
Copywriting
Content creation
Creative writing
Storytelling
