About

Biography

From an early age, there was only one subject that truly fascinated Mr. Siegert — biology.

As a teenager, his interest in wildlife grew into a genuine passion. To learn more about wildlife and its habitats, he pursued a Bachelor of Science in Forestry. This provided him with the knowledge and skills to manage and positively influence animal habitats, even in areas subject to economic use. He subsequently completed a Master of Science in Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, deepening his understanding of the complex ecological systems that constitute wildlife habitats — what one might simply call "nature."

During his undergraduate years, Mr. Siegert developed a strong interest in zoonotic diseases and their mechanisms. It was during his master's studies that he first encountered the field of parasitology, combined with the One Health perspective. 

At the beginning of his doctoral studies, he joined the Institute of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Göttingen, working in the group of apl. Prof. Dr. med. vet. Stephan Neumann, Dipl. ECVCP, chief physician and executive head of the Small Animal Clinic of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine. There, Mr. Siegert developed and deepened his expertise in parasitology and also engaged with the field of immunology and biomarker research.

After more than 2.5 years of active work and collaboration in these two fields — first as a Research Assistant, later as a Research Associate (serving as laboratory manager, team leader, project manager, lecturer, and supervisor for bachelor students, among other responsibilities) — Mr. Siegert was introduced to an entirely different scientific discipline: molecular biology, and in particular molecular genetics and genomics. 

The multidisciplinarity of this — arguably the most fundamental of all life sciences at present — captivated him immediately. A few months after this first deeper engagement with genetics, Mr. Siegert found what he considers his scientific home in this field. He subsequently changed the topic of his doctoral thesis from parasitology to genetics.

As a logical consequence, a change of doctoral supervisor also became necessary, in order to obtain the appropriate support for this new subject. Mr. Siegert had the opportunity to be supervised by Prof. Prof. h.c. (JXAU) Prof. h.c. (MBA) Dr. med. vet. Dr. med. vet. habil. Bertram Brenig (Wikipedia) — Director of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Professor and Head of the Division of Molecular Biology of Farm Animals and Molecular Diagnostics, Head of the ZMD, and former President of the International Society of Animal Genetics. 

In November 2023, Prof. Brenig became Mr. Siegert's doctoral supervisor. Simultaneously, Mr. Siegert began working in Prof. Brenig's group, while continuing his collaboration with Prof. Neumann in the fields of parasitology and immunology until July 2024. 

At that point, Mr. Siegert transitioned fully to Prof. Brenig's group — a decision that enabled him not only to work as a geneticist on a full-time basis, but also to address the remaining knowledge gaps arising from his previous career steps outside of genetics. His friend and colleague Joel Fonseca-Nogueira (Currículo Lattes) played a significant role in this transition — in particular through introducing Mr. Siegert to the world of bioinformatics.

Mr. Siegert is currently an active member of the working group of Prof. Brenig, conducting research in the following subfields of molecular biology:
molecular genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics.

The journey proceeds.

In his spare time, Mr. Siegert enjoys cooking, playing the violin, hiking, reading, playing chess, and spending time with his family.

For an overview of Mr. Siegert's research areas and contributions, see the Research and/or Publications page.