"It totally depends on the subject you're working on," she says.
"This started as a post-doctorate at the National Institute of Health in the US. It was a very difficult project because nothing was really known about it, that's why it took a bit longer.
"It was a wild idea, so it took a while to find out how it works. Only when you get really solid results can you confidently tell others."
Collaborating from New Zealand with her colleagues in the United States and Brazil, Sattlegger studied a protein called Gcn2 which is inherent in all living organisms. She and her team also discovered another protein called eEF1A that regulates Gcn2. These finely tuned chemical interactions within cells are fundamental to our health as they allow cells to know when they are short of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins needed for almost all biological functions.
Knowing how cells detect and regulate amino acid levels will be useful, says Sattlegger, because Gcn2 is implicated in several diseases, and in such vital functions as our long-term memory and immunity.
"Our discovery was a great accomplishment; it was an important, novel and unexpected finding when it comes to understand how Gcn2 is kept in check, and this is one key piece of the puzzle which forms the foundation for understanding how diseases develop."
The findings could allow scientists to develop measures against Gcn2-associated diseases, with the protein proposed as a promising target for anti-cancer drugs.
Sattlegger first decided to study yeast in 2002, gradually honing the nature of her experiments as discoveries led her in new directions.
In 2001, Sir Paul Nurse, Leland Hartwell and Tim Hunt won the Nobel prize for using yeast to uncover the mechanism of the cell cycle (cell division) and its link with cancer.
Yeast cells behave somewhat like human cells, allowing Sattlegger's team to experiment by removing proteins or inserting mutations to see how the proteins would communicate, a process she likens to taking the brakes from a car and then finding it no longer stops. She had initially thought one protein helped the other and was excited and shocked to find that wasn't the case.
"There are all these phenomena but no one knows how they're actually working. If you want to find a cure for disease - how to prevent it before it develops - you need to know how it's working. That's difficult to study in humans or animals.
"The intriguing and amazing thing is there's so much communication and regulation happening to make sure the cells are working at an optimal level whatever their environment or condition."
Working as a molecular biologist has allowed Sattlegger to travel the world. The German-born scientist studied science throughout school, then made the logical progression to study biology at university. At masters and PhD level, she specialised in microbiology, biochemistry, genetics and immunology. "I like to get into the minute details."
She chose to study at Hanover as it allowed her access to an amalgamation of the city's medical, veterinarian and technical schools. It was there, while working as an assistant at the university, that she first discovered the Gcn2 protein.
The National Institute of Health in the US got wind of her discovery, so she moved there to work and further her education. The move also allowed her to establish her independence - a necessary step, she says, for anyone wanting to take on leadership roles further down the track.
In 2005, she was looking for a new job when Massey University offered her a role based in its natural sciences department. The job was exactly what she was looking for, with a 50/50 balance of research and teaching, although there was a degree of hesitation about moving to the other side of the world.
"I decided to do it because I thought it's so important that I like my job. And I like the country, I'd always been interested in New Zealand. I remembered studying the tuatara and moa at school. The job would combine my passion for nature, the uniqueness here, with what Massey could offer."
She likes that the job is varied, creative and requires constant learning. Working with students is also fulfilling, as so many of them have great ideas; her first PhD student in New Zealand was an instrumental part of the research team she set up for the yeast project.
Next year she will be involved in the campus' new degree, the Bachelor of Natural Sciences, focused on inquiry-based learning, the basis for her own work.
"It's so rewarding to see when students understand then get excited as well. You have to have a passion to learn. I always have to learn, my work is always evolving, which makes it interesting. Every day is different."
