I am a Senior Researcher and Project Leader at the Experimental Rheumatology Laboratory, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel. My work focuses on inflammatory joint disease and on bridging the gap between preclinical models and patients. My research follows two complementary lines. The first explores how innate immune sensing contributes to systemic autoimmunity, with a particular interest in mitochondrial DNA biology, type I interferon signalling, platelet–neutrophil cooperation, and the cGAS–STING and TLR9 pathways. The second develops human synovial-cartilage organoid platforms (hSynCart/μJoint) for preclinical drug screening and patient stratification in rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and systemic sclerosis. Working at the interface of academia and industry, I collaborate with biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners to bring human-relevant models into translational drug development. My goal is to make preclinical research more predictive of patient responses, so that better therapies reach the right patients sooner.