Trained in Germany as a veterinarian, then a Dr. vet. med and a PhD in Epidemiology at Massey University, New Zealand. Afterwards I have been working in the UK, before moving back to Germany again. In between working in different countries like Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. Since 2014 I am at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, the national institute for animal health in Germany, first as deputy head and since 2023 as head of the Institute of Epidemiology, responsible for many notifiable diseases.