Sena obtained her B.Sc. degree in Biology at the University of Cologne. She completed her Master's degree at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. In October 2021, she joined the CEPLAS Graduate School. During her studies, she mainly focused on pathogenic and beneficial plant-microbe interactions. The main objective of her PhD is to understand the genetic basis of plant-microbe associations in Brassicaceae and Hordeum species.

Mutualistic fungi of the order of Sebacinales colonize various host plants, including Arabidopsis thaliana and economically important crops like barley. Fungal colonization leads to improved plant growth, development, and can increase grain yield. Additionally, the fungi afford protection against an aggressive soil-borne plant pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana (Bs). Bs also infects and causes disease symptoms in roots of the model organism A. thaliana, enabling us to develop a set-up to dissect host genetic factors involved in disease severity and plant growth. My research focuses on understanding to which extent host genetic factors impact the beneficial effects that are exerted by mutualistic fungi and dissect their mechanistical function.