Born in Bonn, he studied chemistry and medicine at the University of Bonn and LMU Munich. He obtained his medical license in 1979 and his habilitation in clinical biochemistry in 1985. In 1987, he became professor of clinical biochemistry at LMU Munich. In 1989, he became professor of pathobiochemistry at the University of Mainz. In 1999, he became professor of biochemistry at the Goethe University Frankfurt. He was director of the Institute for Biochemistry II and the Gustav Embden Center for Biological Chemistry from 2000. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that control the cardiovascular system.[3]
In 2006, he became vice president of the Goethe University Frankfurt,[4] where he was elected president in October 2008. He was succeeded by Birgitta Wolff in 2015.[5]
