After studying mathematics with a focus on statistics in Gießen (Germany) and Montpellier (France), I started as a doctoral researcher in the Genetic Epidemiology Group at the Institute of Epidemiology Helmholtz Center in Munich in order to pursue the application of statistical methods to research in life science and particularly in the genetic epidemiology of complex diseases. I finished my PhD at the Medical Faculty of the University of Marburg on “meta-analysis of genetic linkage studies”. Before spending the next few years as a scientist in Marburg, where I enjoyed working in close collaboration with clinical partners, in particular in child and adolescent psychiatry (ADHD, eating disorders, obesity and regulation of body weight and height) and psychiatry (affective disorders, personality disorders), both for genetic epidemiologic and clinical studies. My habilitation was on statistical methods for the analysis of gene-environment interactions. Since October 2014, I have a professorship for Statistical Genetics at the University of Kiel and am Deputy Director of the Institute of Medical Informatics and Statistics.