Studied human medicine in Regensburg and Munich (TU); license to practise medicine 1979; doctorate 1981; habilitation 1994. Between 2009-2011, completed a MBA course in health management at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. DFG scholarship 1981-1983 at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, specialist training in surgery 1984-1991 at the Technical University of Munich, majoring in visceral surgery (1995) and thoracic surgery (2000). 2001-2018 Director of the Clinic for General, Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery of the University Medical Center Greifswald; since 2018 full-time Medical Director of the University Medical Center Greifswald.