I studied Biochemistry at the Technical University of Hannover, Germany graduating with a MSc in Biochemistry in 1989. Subsequently, I obtained my PhD at the same university in 1993. After five years of postdoctoral research at the Medical School of Hannover and the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, I was appointed Junior Research Group Leader at the Helmholtz Institute for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany in 1998. In 2002, I gained a position as an Associate Professor in Molecular Microbiology at the KI obtaining a 5 year ‘Elitforskartjänst’. In 2012, I obtained the position as a Professor in Medical Microbial Physiology at Karolinska Institutet. The major focus of my research is on regulation of biofilm formation in microorganisms, biofilm composition and interaction of biofilms in different environments. I am interested in basic research as well as the clinical and environmental aspects. In addition, we are interested in persistence mechanisms of world-wide spread of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clone C. In total, I have published 100 papers of original work, 28 reviews and 13 book contributions. I am engaged in education, organization of conferences and serve the scientific community also with a variety of several other activities.