Finnish-German biochemist, high school diploma from Gymnasium An der Stenner (Iserlohn, Germany), undergraduate studies at the University of Hamburg, PhD from the University of Helsinki, Finland in 2003 with Kari Alitalo: discovery of the first growth factors for lymphatic vessels: VEGF-C and VEGF-D. Since 2020 associate professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki. Experience in three biotech startups with several patents and three drugs in clinical trials: OPT-302/sozinibercept (developer, phase III), VGX-100 and Lymfactin (co-developer, up to phase I and II, respectively). Currently working on novel and sustainable protein expression systems.