About Myself
I am a physician–scientist and board-certified gastroenterologist with a strong focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), mucosal immunology, and translational medicine. I currently serve as Professor of Translational Gastroenterology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and as an Attending Physician in the Department of Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, and Rheumatology.
My clinical work focuses on the comprehensive care of patients with IBD in the outpatient setting, including therapy initiation and optimization, long-term disease management, and diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy. I combine regular patient care with a translational research program that aims to bridge mechanistic immunology with clinical decision-making.
My research centers on immune–epithelial and immune–stromal interactions in intestinal inflammation, with particular emphasis on cytokine networks, tissue niches, and mechanisms of therapy resistance. Using integrated single-cell genomics, spatial transcriptomics, organoid systems, in vivo models, and deeply phenotyped patient cohorts, my group develops biomarker-driven strategies for patient stratification and precision medicine in IBD.
I have led and secured multiple competitive funding programs, including an ERC Starting Grant, a Lichtenberg Professorship from the Volkswagen Foundation, and several DFG grants. My work has contributed to the identification of predictive biomarkers for biologic therapies and to the discovery of novel therapeutic targets, including pathways currently being explored in clinical development. I have published extensively in high-impact journals such as Nature Medicine, Gastroenterology, Science Advances, PNAS, and Nature Immunology.
Alongside my research and clinical activities, I am actively engaged in teaching, mentoring, and academic leadership. I supervise doctoral and medical students, contribute to graduate education in immunology and gastroenterology, and serve on national and international review panels, editorial boards, and scientific committees.
