1996, Diploma, University of Constance, Germany;

2000, PhD, University of Geneva, Switzerland;

2000-2001, Post doctoral fellow, Technical University of Dresden, Germany;

2001-2004, Postdoctoral fellow, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; supported by Feinberg Graduate School and Minerva fellowships;

2004-2007, Wellcome Trust Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester

2007-present, Lecturer, Faculty of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, University of Manchester

For migration over external surfaces cells need to form adhesions with the extracellular matrix and to modulate these adhesions in a spatially- and temporally-coordinated manner. Cell adhesion occurs in specialized sites, known as focal adhesions (FA), where transmembrane adhesion receptors (e.g. integrins) link the extracellular environment to the actin skeleton. The intracellular connection between integrins and microfilaments is regulated by a vast number of adaptor and signaling molecules, interconnected via a huge number of possible molecular interactions. It is apparent that these interactions do not all take place simultaneously and that they are tightly regulated. Our aim is to study molecular interactions in live cells to get a better understanding of how and through which pathways adhesion events in cells are regulated. To monitor such events we use FRET and FRAP analysis.