I studied biochemistry in Vienna and at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1999, I joined Kim Nasmyth’s group at the IMP for his diploma. Then I went on to do his PhD in the lab of Angelika Amon – a former student of Kim Nasmyth herself – at MIT. In 2006, I became a Fellow at the Whitehead Institute, and in 2011 I joined New York University, where he is currently Associate Professor and Principal Investigator.