I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany. My main research interests lie in the fields of astrobiology and the origins of life.

My research experience ranges from the synthesis of prebiotic molecules on the early Hadean Earth to the parent bodies of carbonaceous meteorites. Currently, I am conducting astrochemical experiments to explore the formation of prebiotic molecules, in particular sugars, in interstellar ice analogs. Further, I plan to study how prebiotic molecules form through wet-dry cycling on planetary surfaces, such as super-Earths, in both simulations and experiments in an effort to better understand how non-living matter became life.

I am an Executive Board member of the Origin of Life Early-career Network (OoLEN) and I enjoy climbing on via ferratas, weight lifting, scuba diving, and Geocaching during my free time.

In the picture you can see me pointing on the deposit (black layer) of the dinosaur killer, impacting the Earth around 66 million years ago. As a member of the class of carbonaceous chondrites , this meteorite belonged to the same family of impactors that might have seeded the building blocks of life on our planet in the first place. Therefore, both life and death might arise from meteorites.