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Johannes was born in Fulda (Germany) in 1992. After completing high school, he studied Chemistry at the Philipps University Marburg (Germany). Upon obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree, he was awarded an Erasmus scholarship to continue his studies abroad. Johannes decided to continue his studies at the Imperial College London (United Kingdom) in 2014. To explore new scientific directions, he joined the group of Prof. Ramon Vilar for an internship and learned firsthand about bioinorganic chemistry. During this time, Johannes was working on the synthesis and biochemical evaluation of novel metal complexes as Quadruplex DNA binders. Upon completion of the Erasmus program, he returned to the Philipps University Marburg (Germany) where he focused his remaining studies on learning about biological and pharmaceutical pathways. To complete his undergraduate studies, he did his master thesis in the Center for Tumor Biology and Immunology Marburg under the supervision of Prof. Wibke Diederich. The focus of his studies was the computational design, synthesis, and biochemical evaluation of novel protein arginine methyltransferase inhibitors for potential application in anticancer therapy.

In 2016, Johannes moved to Paris to undertake a PhD thesis in medicinal inorganic chemistry with Prof. Gilles Gasser at Paris Sciences & Lettres University (PSL, France). He did part of this work in the lab of Prof. Hui Chao at Sun Yat-Sen University (China). The focus of his work was the development of novel metal complexes as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy and their selective delivery to the tumor tissue. Based on the multidisciplinary nature of this project, Johannes was involved in the computational design, synthetic preparation, photophysical and pharmacological evaluation, and biological testing of novel metal-based compounds for anticancer therapy.

In 2020, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean to join the group of Prof. Seth M. Cohen at the University of California San Diego (UCSD, United States) as a postdoctoral fellow. Due to the emergence of COVID-19, Johannes focused his research efforts on the computational design, synthesis, and biochemical evaluation of novel metal-based inhibitors for the COVID-19 main protease.

In 2022, Johannes was awarded a Liebig Fellowship of the Funds of the German Chemical Industry and therefore given the opportunity to return to Germany and start his independent career. Capitalizing on this support, he founded his own research group at the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB, Germany). The research interest of Johannes and his group lies on the interface of inorganic and medicinal chemistry. The research focus is the modulation and specific intervention into biological processes with metal complexes towards the development of novel therapeutic agents.

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Awards

2024	Paul Ehrlich & Ludwig Darmstaedter Early Career Award for Excellence in Biological and Medicinal Research by the Paul-Ehrlich Foundation
2023	Life Sciences Bridge Award for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Science and Research by the Aventis Foundation
2023	Breast Cancer Research Junior Award for Excellence in the Development of Therapeutic Agents against Breast Cancer by the Claudia von Schilling Foundation
2022	Liebig Fellowship for the Establishment of a Junior Research Group by the Funds of the German Chemical Industry (FCI)
2022	Leadership Development Award of the Younger Chemists Committee of the American Chemical Society (ACS)
2022	Inclusion in the Journal of Coordination Chemistry list as one of Emerging Leaders of Coordination Chemistry
2022	Cultural Awareness and Sustainability Award for Communication, Collaboration, Cultural Awareness, Creativity, and Project Management Skills based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals by the American Chemical Society (ACS)
2022	Nomination for Participation and Travel Grant for the Postdoc to Faculty (P2F) Workshop of the American Chemical Society (ACS)
2021	Wilhelm Ostwald Young Investigator Award for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Science and Research by the German Chemical Society (GDCh), Wilhelm-Ostwald-Society (WOG), and the German Bunsen Society (DBG)
2021	Recognition as a World Expert in Photosensitizing Agents by Expertscape
2021	Travel Award for participation at the University of California Drug Discovery Consortium (UCDDC) 4th Annual Symposium, Irvine, California, USA
2021	Flash Presentation Award from the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry for the Best Presentation at the Electronic Biological Inorganic Chemistry Meeting (eBIC)
2021	Nomination for Participation and Travel Grant for the Lasting Encounters between Aspiring and Distinguished Scientists (LEADS) Conference of the American Chemical Society (ACS)
2021	University of California Chemical Symposium (UCCS) Platform Talk Award for the Best Presentation
2020	René Dabard – ENSCR Award for the best PhD Thesis in Chemistry in France
2020	Reaxys PhD Prize Finalist of the world’s most Prestigious Award for PhD Students (within Top 11 worldwide) for Excellence in Science and Research
2020	Ethical Challenges of Research for Endeavors in Research Ethics by University of California, San Diego
2020	Young Chemists Poster Award at the Young Chemists Summit of the Austrian Chemical Society
2015	Deutschlandstipendium Scholarship by Philipps-University Marburg and Clariant Deutschland GmbH for Excellence during Master of Science Studies
2014	Erasmus Scholarship for a stay at Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
2009	Youth Group Leader Award (Juleica) for Excellence in Organization and Leadership of Youth Groups