I obtained my MSc and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee (Scotland). In 1999, I moved to the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen (Germany) to work as a postdoc in the laboratory of Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard. Starting in 2000, I increasingly took over science management responsibilities at the institute. For example, I managed its public relations and outreach activities, organised scientific events and engaged in fundraising. As part of the latter, I co-wrote a successful application for a large EU-project, which I later managed. In 2005, I became a group leader at the Medical University of Vienna. However, in 2008, I decided that I was more passionate about science management and accepted the position as Director of Scientific Management at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid (Spain). In 2010, I was offered the opportunity to help establish an entirely new research centre: The Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH (IMB; www.imb.de) in Mainz. So, I returned to Germany as IMB’s Director of Scientific Management and as one of its very first employees (now one of around 250 in a thriving and very international institute). At IMB, my current responsibilities include: • Fundraising and project management • Internal & external communication, press & public relations, and outreach activities • The recruitment of directors, group leaders and PhD students as well as the training and career development of PhD students, postdocs and junior group leaders • The management of scientific events and social & networking activities • Strategic planning and policy development • IPR and technology transfer • Benchmarking, research evaluations and reporting In 2014, I obtained an MSc in Business Administration from Mainz’s University of Applied Sciences. In my (very limited) spare time, I advise start-ups on fundraising and investor pitching, am a member of Rhineland-Palatinate’s Bioethics Commission, the External Examiner of the Postgraduate Certificate in Creative Thinking, Innovation & Entrepreneurship of Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) and am a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Innovative Training Network (ITN) “ImageInLife”. I also teach Science Management at various institutions, currently mainly in Germany and Italy, e.g. as a Visiting Professor at the University of Padua. My teaching activities focus on project management, communication, fundraising and career development.

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My past research focused on the genetics and cell biology of eye development in vertebrates and synaptogenesis and the remodeling of synapses in the vertebrate brain. I also have a strong interest in the history of science, esp. the discovery of DNA, the connection between science and art, and have written articles on science management and communication. I wrote four books, 12 book chapters and approx. 50 scientific articles. My current H-index is 34. In addition to scientific publications, I have authored over 50 interdisciplinary & popular scientific articles, incl. in leading magazines, such as Scientific American, American Scientist, and The Scientist). Articles I wrote were translated into over 20 different languages.