Initially trained as a physicist, I specialised in biophysics during my studies at Humboldt University of Berlin, the University of Bristol and Moscow State University. During my PhD and the jobs that followed, I became increasingly involved in more medical topics. After I received a PhD in electrophysiology, I became the R&D manager of the pharmaceutical start-up Gentian AS, Oslo. In 2003, I returned to academic research at Saarland University. Ever since, I have kept a balance between this and medical research, exploring molecular signalling and the development of optical imaging tools.