Franziska Lautenschläger studied physics at the University of Leipzig, Germany and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse, France, before graduating with a physics diploma from Leipzig. For her PhD on mechanical changes during stem cell differentiation, she joined the laboratory of Jochen Guck at the University of Cambridge, UK. In 2011, Franziska moved to Paris, France, for her postdoctoral work on the migration of immune cells under confinement at the Institut Curie with supervisor Matthieu Piel. Since 2013, she has been an independent group leader and holds a junior professorship in biophysics from Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany. In addition, the Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Saarbrücken, appointed her as junior group leader in 2017. Franziska's research focuses on cell migration and polarity, and the links to cell mechanics and the different cytoskeletal networks in cells.