I studied biology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. Since 2008 I am a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence in the Department of Ornithology (previously MPI for Ornithology, Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics).

My research is placed in the context of mating systems and parental care with a special focus on extra-pair behaviour, pair bonding and pair coordination. For this, I use data from the long-term studies of our research group involving free-living blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and a variety of shorebird species. I am also involved in other projects of our group that consider different aspects of avian reproductive behaviour and help out with scientific work.