In 1998 I graduated in Chemistry and Biology at the University of Cologne, Germany and my two diploma theses were awarded for my studies in the field of plant development performed at the Max-Delbrück-Laboratory. I received my PhD from the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, where I analysed in the department of Peter Gruss the role of Pax6 in the development of the mouse brain. I subsequently joined the group of Peter Currie at the Victor-Chang-Cardiac-Research-Institute in Sydney, focusing on modelling muscle diseases in zebrafish. In 2008 I relocated to the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, which is part of EMBL Australia.

I am committed to the generation, characterization and exploitation of zebrafish models for muscle diseases. Specifically the assembly of the sarcomeres, the functional unit of the contractile apparatus, has captured my interest. In contrast to the functionality and organisation, sarcomere assembly is a relatively unexplored process that is crucial for the formation of functional muscle.