| 1980 - 1981 | Study of biology at the University of Regensburg |
| 1982 - 1986 | Study of biology at the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich |
| 1987 - 1991 |
Ph.D. student at the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich (laboratory of Prof. Dr. Dr. Walter Neupert) |
| 1991 – 1993 |
Post-doctoral fellow at Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, USA (laboratory of Prof. Dr. James E. Rothman) |
| 1994 - 1997 |
Assistant Laboratory Member at Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, USA (laboratory of Prof. Dr. James E. Rothman) |
| 1998 - 2004 |
Assistant Member (Assistant Professor) at Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, USA |
| 2004 - 2005 |
Associate Member (Associate Professor) at Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, USA |
| since 2005 |
Professor at the University of Heidelberg (BZH) |
| 2016 - 2018 | Director of the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH) |