B.A. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2005
Honors Thesis: The role of the cps operon in persistence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium
(in other words: "Salmonella bacteria may be able to cause longer-term infections in mice if they have a special capsule made of polysaccharides.")

Ph.D. in Biology/Microbiology, Humboldt University and Max Planck Institute, Berlin, Germany, 2011
Dissertation: Myeloperoxidase and neutrophil elastase collaborate in the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps
(in other words: "How white blood cells called neutrophils commit suicide to set sticky microbe-catching traps made of their own DNA!")