Born 1972. Study of medicine at the University of Saarland (1991-1993) and at the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University in Frankfurt (1993 – 1998). Doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research and at the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University in Frankfurt (1993 – 1999). Postdoc in the Laboratory of Neuropsychology at the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA (1999 – 2001). Principal Investigator at Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands (2001-2009). Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society at the MPI for Biological Intelligence and research group leader at the MPI for Biological Cybernetics.