Bingen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
I am a microbiologist and immunologist by training and obtained my PhD in 2009 working on the development of live vaccines for cancer immunotherapy. Subsequently, I started my postdoctoral training at the LMU in Munich, working on synthetic immune response modifers for the immunotherapy of cancer and on innate detection of infection and other inflammatory processes. In 2011, I moved to Fribourg, Switzerland, to continue my postdoctoral research in the newly established Chair of Pharmacology. From 2013 to 2015, I was employed as Deputy Lab Head in the Chair of Pharmacology. I focused on characterizing interactions of different sets of innate immune receptors, like Toll-like receptors (TLR), and inflammatory signalling in infection. A further aim of my research is to translate those findings in improving treatment schedules for cancer immunotherapy with TLR agonists. I recently concluded my "Habilitation" in Immunopharmacology and obtained the "venia legendi" from the University of Fribourg. I am currently employed as Director and Scientific Project Leader at BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals and responsible for the early preclinical development of cancer immunotherapeutics.
Early preclinical development of RNA-based therapeutics in Immuno-Oncology In vivo pharmacology and formulation development
Scientific project management Scientific writing (publications) Supervision and recruitment of personnel Grant applications Authorisations and reports for animal experimentation Biosafety Lectures and education Reviewing activities
Preclinical evaluation of immune response modifiers for cancer immunotherapy Set-up of novel immunology lab Set-up of novel animal facility