Johannes joined the IfM a PhD student in 2019 under the supervision of Dr. Letizia Mortara as part of the Centre for Technology Management (CTM) research group. He investigates how pioneering new ventures in the emerging gene therapy area managed to survive two drastic, long-lasting and highly adverse crises in the business environment which greatly constricted access to funding, investment and incumbent partners. With his research he intends to contribute to both the literature and managerial practice of how technology-based firms strategically respond to and recover from crisis, with a particular focus on innovation strategy and Open Innovation.

Johannes holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Molecular Medicine from the University of Göttingen, Germany with a visiting research stay in Berkeley, USA focussing on immunotherapy of cancer. He complemented this biomedical research background with a second Master’s in Drug Discovery and Pharma Management at UCL, which focussed on the management science of bringing medical innovation to the market and to patients. The PhD represents a logical continuation of this interest and dual background in the biopharma industry and the drug discovery and development process, with a focus on a firm strategy/management perspective.