About

For over 20 years, I have dedicated my career to conducting biomedical research, spanning from basic and pre-clinical research to observational clinical studies.

Current Roles

I’m currently an independent biomedical researcher and freelance educator based in Germany, specializing in training for AI-enabled research. I’m also Co-founder and Executive Director of Theme Bio (website under development), a US nonprofit empowering biomedical researchers in resource-limited settings through AI tools, training, and mentorship.

Research Interests

I’m passionate about data-driven approaches with the long-term goal of advancing diagnostics and helping develop new, personalized therapies, particularly for patients with inborn errors of immunity or complex immunological diseases. In addition, my interests include HLA immunogenetics, large-scale antibody profiling, and infectious disease research. I aim to use insights from systems approaches to better understand human immune variation in health and disease. Check out my Publications for more details.

Other Interests

• Creating educational content and teaching.
• International development and global health.
• Developing software tools and applications for data analysis and gaining insights.

Past Positions and Postdoctoral Training

• Research Group Leader for Translational Immunology at Brandenburg Medical School (11/2022-08/2023), setting up a Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) core facility.
• Adjunct Assistant/Associate Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (11/2018-12/2024), mentoring graduate students.
• Principal Investigator at Sidra Medicine (03/2015-07/2022), leading research on the biological and clinical consequences of human germline genetic variation and inborn errors of immunity.
• Postdoctoral Fellow / Research Associate at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and briefly at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology, focusing on immune defenses in neonates and young children against respiratory viral infections.
• Postdoctoral Fellow / Research Associate at the University of British Columbia.

Education

I obtained my doctoral degree in 2007 from the University of Würzburg, and conducted my dissertation research at the University of British Columbia, where I also began my early postdoctoral training. During that time, my research focused on immune evasion strategies of Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough.

Certifications

• Deep Learning Specialization, DeepLearning.AI (12/2023)
• Machine Learning Specialization, Stanford Online & DeepLearning.AI (10/2023)
• Certificate in International Development, University of British Columbia (06/2009)

Selected Training Awards & Fellowships

• CIHR / Canadian Lung Association / GlaxoSmithKline Fellowship in Respiratory Health (2011-2012)
• Immunity in Health & Disease Postdoctoral Fellowship, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (2010-2011)
• Canadian Allergy and Immune Disease Advanced Training Initiative Award, AllerGen NCE (2010-2011)

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