Personal Statement
I am a Paediatric Rheumatologist with special interest in molecular mechanisms of cytokine dysregulation in autoimmune/inflammatory disease, their potential applicability as disease biomarkers, and the resolution of pathological inflammatory responses by individualized and target-directed therapeutic approaches. In August 2017, I was appointed Professor of Child Health at the University of Liverpool, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Women's and Children's Health. Previously, I served as Head of Paediatric Rheumatology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Germany.

I completed my medical training and doctoral degree (Dr. med.) at the University of Ulm Medical School, Ulm, Germany, and undertook a residency program in General Paediatrics, followed by a sub-specialty fellowship in Paediatric Rheumatology in the Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany. I received my scientific training in Germany (University of Ulm, and TU Dresden) and the United States, where I completed a research fellowship at The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD, USA, followed by a research fellowship and appointment as Instructor in Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA. In 2014, I obtained a teaching license (Habilitation; Dr. med. habil.) from the Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden based on my his thesis entitled "Molecular mechanisms of cytokine dysregulation and their contribution to the pathophysiology of autoimmune/inflammatory disorders". In 2018, I was awarded a PhD in Immunology from the Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden.

Since April 2020, I serve as Head of Department, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool.

Research Overview
My core research interests are molecular mechanisms of cytokine regulation and their effects on disease expression in the spectrum from autoinflammation to autoimmunity. Special foci include the autoinflammatory bone disease chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO), the mixed-pattern disease psoriasis/psoriatic JIA, and the "prototypical autoimmune" disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). I am actively involved with consensus treatment plan initiatives of the North American CARRA group (CNO) and treat to target (T2T) initiatives of the German Society of Pediatric Rheumatology (GKJR) (SLE, systemic JIA, CNO). Since 2020, I am co-chair (Europe) of the OMERACT CNO/SAHOP special interest group that aims to develop outcome measures for clinical trials.
My work spans the translational spectrum from "early" laboratory research to the bedside and back. Research acivity of my group aims at translating knowledge from small patient cohorts, daily clinical experience, and laboratory studies into routine patient care.