NL
DE
4 February 2020
Where do you live and with whom?
I live across the border in Kleve with my wife Indira and our kids Emma (18) and Luis (17) and an elderly dog called Zola.
When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? Can you tell us something about your child years.
I had quite some freedom while being young, my parents were super busy in their jobs and my siblings were some years older. I used that freedom for quite a bunch of interests and activities – just not so much for a focus on school. I acted in a theater group, took photographs and developed them in my own dark room, trained three, four times a week for intermediate and long-distance running competitions, I joined the youth fire fighters and later the paramedics. As colorful as my activities were, my job ideas ranging from actor, architect to physician, which I actually became.
What was your previous academic training, where did you study and why did you choose that study/those studies?
I was really fascinated by medical practice as I experienced it as paramedic and thus, I studied medicine in Bonn with longer stays in Zürich and New York. I obtained my clinical training as neurologist in Bonn and Magdeburg and in between I did a postdoctoral training in Stanford.
Of which of your research discoveries, you are most proud of?
I think it is still one of my first studies. I investigated the neural signature of memory formation in patients with epilepsy who received depth electrodes into their medial temporal lobe for their presurgical workup. Using this unique window into human cognition we were able to dissociate and characterize two processes that occur within two seconds and predict whether the current experience will be later remembered or is doomed to be forgotten.
What is your most important scientific challenge in the coming 5 years?
A great team I am part of is currently acquiring the data for the Healthy Brain Study, which is a challenge by itself, but using this large-scale, multidisciplinary resource across different disciplines and even faculties to answer relevant questions that could not be answered by existing datasets will be my greatest challenge in the next five years.
If you could choose any mentor, who would this be?
Annie Leibovitz, she could finally teach me how I could make better photographs of people.
What is your favorite topic: molecules - patients - population?
All three are relevant for my research, although people in my group usually investigate young healthy volunteers (students).
What should be changed / improved in the scientific community?
The artist-like attitudes in science with geniuses that sign their pieces of work with their names (author list) and accumulate them in their Œuvre (CV). In a similar vein, our obsession with titles (Dr., Prof.), which is otherwise in this intensity only known in the catholic church and the military.
Is there anything we can wake you up for in the middle of the night?
Sleep is too important for memory (and many other things) and thus, just for emergencies.
What is the thing that irritates you most?
Unfairness and egocentric focus that ignores a broader perspective.
Who would you like to have dinner with, if you had the chance?
Donald Trump. Would be a pretty unfriendly dinner, but he would not be allowed to leave before I finish my dessert. Or should I better talk to the Democrats to come up with a reasonable candidate?
How do you relax from the demanding job being a scientist?
Going outdoor and making photographs on an early Sunday morning – alone.
Do you have a tip for our most junior scientists?
Doing serious research prepares you optimally for your (professional) life. You learn to solve complex problems analytically and empirically. The world needs fact-based problem solvers!
Please make a selection:
Crisper-Cas9 or AI: Crisper-Cas9
Pipette or Biostatistics: Biostatistics
RT-PCR or Proteomics: Where is the neuron?
Big data or Clinical trial: Big data
Please add a photo which represents a remarkable event or experience you were part of? Please explain.
I took this picture when visiting Shenzehn for a lecture and a lab visit. Do you see how tiny the people appear at the bottom of the image? This is an impressive building, the civic center, and in my back was a humongous square framed with dozens of illuminated high-risers including the 4th tallest building in the world. This city was established in 1978, today it has about 20 million inhabitants and is one of the world leading technology hubs. This visit finally clarified for me how fast a vibrant China is developing – I am still hoping for a peaceful and free collaboration.
Where do you live and with whom?
I live across the border in Kleve with my wife Indira and our kids Emma (18) and Luis (17) and an elderly dog called Zola.
When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? Can you tell us something about your child years.
I had quite some freedom while being young, my parents were super busy in their jobs and my siblings were some years older. I used that freedom for quite a bunch of interests and activities – just not so much for a focus on school. I acted in a theater group, took photographs and developed them in my own dark room, trained three, four times a week for intermediate and long-distance running competitions, I joined the youth fire fighters and later the paramedics. As colorful as my activities were, my job ideas ranging from actor, architect to physician, which I actually became.
What was your previous academic training, where did you study and why did you choose that study/those studies?
I was really fascinated by medical practice as I experienced it as paramedic and thus, I studied medicine in Bonn with longer stays in Zürich and New York. I obtained my clinical training as neurologist in Bonn and Magdeburg and in between I did a postdoctoral training in Stanford.
Of which of your research discoveries, you are most proud of?
I think it is still one of my first studies. I investigated the neural signature of memory formation in patients with epilepsy who received depth electrodes into their medial temporal lobe for their presurgical workup. Using this unique window into human cognition we were able to dissociate and characterize two processes that occur within two seconds and predict whether the current experience will be later remembered or is doomed to be forgotten.
What is your most important scientific challenge in the coming 5 years?
A great team I am part of is currently acquiring the data for the Healthy Brain Study, which is a challenge by itself, but using this large-scale, multidisciplinary resource across different disciplines and even faculties to answer relevant questions that could not be answered by existing datasets will be my greatest challenge in the next five years.
If you could choose any mentor, who would this be?
Annie Leibovitz, she could finally teach me how I could make better photographs of people.
What is your favorite topic: molecules - patients - population?
All three are relevant for my research, although people in my group usually investigate young healthy volunteers (students).
What should be changed / improved in the scientific community?
The artist-like attitudes in science with geniuses that sign their pieces of work with their names (author list) and accumulate them in their Œuvre (CV). In a similar vein, our obsession with titles (Dr., Prof.), which is otherwise in this intensity only known in the catholic church and the military.
Is there anything we can wake you up for in the middle of the night?
Sleep is too important for memory (and many other things) and thus, just for emergencies.
What is the thing that irritates you most?
Unfairness and egocentric focus that ignores a broader perspective.
Who would you like to have dinner with, if you had the chance?
Donald Trump. Would be a pretty unfriendly dinner, but he would not be allowed to leave before I finish my dessert. Or should I better talk to the Democrats to come up with a reasonable candidate?
How do you relax from the demanding job being a scientist?
Going outdoor and making photographs on an early Sunday morning – alone.
Do you have a tip for our most junior scientists?
Doing serious research prepares you optimally for your (professional) life. You learn to solve complex problems analytically and empirically. The world needs fact-based problem solvers!
Please make a selection:
Crisper-Cas9 or AI: Crisper-Cas9
Pipette or Biostatistics: Biostatistics
RT-PCR or Proteomics: Where is the neuron?
Big data or Clinical trial: Big data
Please add a photo which represents a remarkable event or experience you were part of? Please explain.
I took this picture when visiting Shenzehn for a lecture and a lab visit. Do you see how tiny the people appear at the bottom of the image? This is an impressive building, the civic center, and in my back was a humongous square framed with dozens of illuminated high-risers including the 4th tallest building in the world. This city was established in 1978, today it has about 20 million inhabitants and is one of the world leading technology hubs. This visit finally clarified for me how fast a vibrant China is developing – I am still hoping for a peaceful and free collaboration.
