Growing up in a family of rock climbers, much of my early life was spent outdoors. Besides enjoying myself, I developed a deep curiosity for nature, consequently studying natural sciences with a major in Geography.
 
At Dresden University of Technology (Germany), I became enthusiastic for research and soon got involved in international research projects, leading research expeditions to remote areas (e.g. Chile & Kyrgyzstan). My long-term volunteering experience with the German Alpine Club (DAV) was essential in this role. To strengthen my scientific expertise, I also spent time at Simon Fraser University (Canada), investigating mountain pine beetle infestations with remote sensing. Subsequently, I used modeling techniques and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to investigate landscape fragmentation and soil erosion, in collaboration with the IOER (Germany).
 
Having completed my MSc degree, I pursued a PhD in sciences at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). My research investigated the carbon and water cycling of tropical ecosystems (Sardinilla, Panama) with micrometeorological flux tower measurements using the eddy covariance technique. After graduating from ETH Zurich, I worked there as a Postdoc on greenhouse gases (GHG) within the projects GHG-Europe and Swiss FluxNet.
 
Afterwards, I became a SNF & Marie Curie Research Fellow in the Biometeorology Lab of ESPM at UC Berkeley (USA). At Berkeley, I analyzed large datasets to investigate the impact of droughts and seasonal climate anomalies. Besides research, I was involved in the coordination of FLUXNET, leading the FLUXNET Young Scientist Network (YSN), and organizing sessions and workshops at international conferences. Since returning to ETH Zurich as a Marie Curie Research Fellow & Senior Scientist, I have been continuing my research on large-scale droughts using direct measurements, remote sensing and modelling.