Florian Berger studied physics at Stuttgart University, Germany, where he investigated stochastic nonequilibrium systems in the research group of Prof. Dr. Seifert. For his Ph.D. work, he joined the Theory and Biosystems Department led by Prof. Dr. Lipowsky at the Max Planck Institute in Potsdam, Germany. Here, he developed a theoretical framework to study the cooperativity of coupled molecular motors, for which he received a Ph.D. in theoretical Physics with highest honors. To investigate the physiological role of molecular motors as tension regulators on mechanosensitive ion channels in the inner ear, Dr. Berger conducted research in Prof. Dr. Hudspeth’s Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience at the Rockefeller University, New York, USA. In this lab, he combined theoretical descriptions with experimentations to address different problems ranging from nonlinear systems theory in hearing to the cooperative gating of ion channels.

For his postdoctoral research, Dr. Berger received a Fedor Lynen Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and a Pilot Grant from the Kavli Neural Systems Institute. Since October 2019, he is the principal investigator of the research group for Theoretical Biophysics at Utrecht University.