Having grown up in East Westphalia, Germany, I studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg and Freiburg at opposing ends of the country. From early on, I was drawn to the complexity of the immune system and to the challenge of understanding what happens when it fails. That interest led me to complete my medical research thesis on primary immunodeficiency and earn my M.D., followed by clinical training in rheumatology and clinical immunology at the University of Freiburg and research training at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology. During my postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School, I contributed to the identification of ORAI1 as the gene encoding the CRAC channel and to the definition of a new rare disease, now known as CRAC channelopathy. These discoveries helped shape the course of my scientific work and established a lasting interest in the role of ion channels in immune function. At NYU, my laboratory has shown that CRAC channels are essential to immune responses in infection, cancer, autoimmunity, and allergy, providing a strong rationale for the development of CRAC channel inhibitors as immunotherapeutic agents. I am also a scientific co-founder of CalciMedica, a biotechnology company advancing such inhibitors in clinical trials for inflammatory diseases. More broadly, my lab seeks to understand how ion channels, transporters, and ionic signaling pathways regulate immunity in health and disease. I am equally committed to fostering a community in this emerging field, which led me to found the ICTI program at NYU and to support webinars, conferences, and Immunochannels.org as forums for scientific exchange. Outside of science, I enjoy New York City’s remarkable cultural life, especially early music and modern art.