Associate Professor at Kiel University. His research combines cutting-edge computational and experimental approaches to understand host–microbiome systems, identify actionable microbial features and improve human health. He co-directs the Kiel Metaorganism Center and received an ERC Consolidator Grant investigating bacterial extracellular vesicles. He co-founded the Global Microbiome Conservancy, which seeks to understand and preserve the global diversity of human gut bacteria, build capacity and increase representation in microbiome science. In recognition of his leadership, he was named a TIME100 Next honoree.