I Conducted my PhD research at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, and received a PhD in Natural Sciences from Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Following postdoctoral stays at University of Essex, UK, and Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain, I moved to South Africa to join the Department of Earth Sciences at Stellenbosch University.

In the modern ocean my research focusses on eolian deposition of trace metals and the impact on phytoplankton and microbial community composition. This is linked to my second main research interest that includes using and improving organic and trace metal proxies for the reconstruction of past environmental conditions and ecosystem responses. Current playgrounds are the continental Lake Baikal as well as the Atlantic Southern Ocean.