Assignments and research activities:

• Head of electron microscopy
• Ultra-structural analyses of host-pathogen interactions
• Virus diagnostics in crop plants and quality control of reference material • Research on viruses in ornamental plants
• Studies on pararetroviruses and lateral DNA transfer
• Focus on virus diversity as determined by abiotic and biotic agents
• Current projects: o Tools for quality improvement in breeding and propagating garlic comprising cultivation as well as virus diagnostics. (BMEL/BLE)

• Boards, memberships and other activities:

• Caulimoviridae Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)
• Gesellschaft für Genetik 
• Verband Biologie, Biowissenschaften und Biomedizin e. V., VBIO 
• American Society for Virology 
• American Phytopathological Society 
• Reviewer for:
  Annals of Botany, Archives Virology, European Journal of Plant Pathology, Journal of Phytopathology, Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, Scientific reports, Virus Disease, Virus Genes, Virus Research and Viruses 
• Teaching:
  
  • Plant virology at University of Kassel Since WS
  • 2013: Teaching “Introduction of Plant Virology” with lectures, seminars in Kassel and a practical course in Braunschweig
  • 2005: “Methods in molecular biology to analyse transgenic plants”, in frame of Swiss-Indo Collaboration for Biotechnology (ISCB) at the University of Madurai, India

• Meetings:
  
  • 2016: World of Petunia days
  • 2015: Workshop “Horizontal DNA transfer”

Professional career & education:

• Since 2007: Head of electron microscopy at Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics of the JKI, Braunschweig, Germany
• 2006 - 2007: Research associate, IPK Gatersleben, Gatersleben, Germany
• 2003 - 2006: Research associate, Plant Health Unit, Botanical Institute, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
• 2000 - 2003: Research associate, Plant Molecular Virology Group, Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel, Switzerland
• 1998 - 1999: Research associate, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA
• 1993 - 1997: Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA
• 1993: Doctoral degree (Dr. sc. agr.) in Plant Pathology at the University of Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany
• 1990 - 1993: Research assistant in the team of Prof. Dr. R. Casper at the Institute of Biochemistry and Plant Virology, Federal Biological Research Center for Agriculture and Forestry, Braunschweig, Germany
• 1987: Diploma of Agriculture, Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany

Publications in the Julius Kühn-Institut