Short bio

I am a Swiss legal scholar working on issues at the intersection of animal law and rights; human rights; environmental, climate, and sustainability law; One Health and food governance. I am a Senior Lecturer in Public Law at the Zürich University of Applied Sciences, School of Management and Law, where I teach constitutional, administrative, and animal law. I am also a Habilitation candidate at the University of Basel and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zürich.

Previously, I was a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany (2016-2024). From 2018-2020, I held a postdoctoral scholarship from the Swiss National Science Foundation and was a Visiting Researcher at Harvard Law School with the postdoctoral research project “Trilogy on a Legal Theory of Animal Rights”. From 2012-2016, I was the academic coordinator of the doctoral programme “Law and Animals” at the University of Basel Law School.

I studied law at the University of Basel, where I also received my doctorate (summa cum laude) in 2015. My dissertation on the fundamental rights of animals won four awards, among them the biennial prize of the Swiss Association for Philosophy of Law. Since 2022, I have been serving on the advisory board of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law. In 2024, I was a member of the working group on One Health Governance in the European Union for the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism.

Curriculum vitae

Education

• since 2022: Habilitation candidate at the University of Basel
• 2011-2015: Doctorate in law (Dr. iur.) at the University of Basel (summa cum laude)
• 2009-2011: Master of Law, University of Basel (summa cum laude)
  
• 2006-2009: Bachelor of Law, University of Basel (magna cum laude)
  

Academic career

• since October 2024: Senior Lecturer in Public Law at the Zürich University of Applied Sciences School of Management and Law, Winterthur, Switzerland
  
• since October 2024: Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Zürich, Switzerland
  
• April 2016 - September 2024: Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg, Germany
• March - April 2022: Visiting scholar at the Harvard Law School Animal Law & Policy Program
  
• March 2018 - March 2020: Visiting researcher at the Harvard Law School Animal Law & Policy Program and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law with the Swiss National Science Foundation-funded postdoctoral research project "Trilogy on a Legal Theory of Animal Rights"
• 2012 - 2016: Coordinator of the doctoral programme "Law and Animals" at the University of Basel
  
• May - July 2014: Human-animal studies fellowship at Wesleyan University (USA)
• 2010-2012: Research assistant at the chair for public and international law (Prof. Anne Peters) at the University of Basel
• August 2007: Legal internship at the Stiftung für das Tier im Recht, Zürich
  

Awards, grants & fellowships

• 2025: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG grant for the Defund Meat conference, 15-17 January 2025, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg (with Anne Peters)
• 2025: Fritz Thyssen Foundation grant for the Defund Meat conference, 15-17 January 2025, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg (with Anne Peters)
• 9/2023-6/2024: Princeton University, Fung Global Fellows Program, fully funded visiting research scholar fellowship for the project “Transformative Greenstreaming: Greening Non-Environmental Law” (declined due to pregnancy)
• 2021: Fritz Thyssen Foundation grant for the project “Oxford Handbook of Global Animal Law” (with Anne Peters and Kristen Stilt)
• 3/2018-3/2020: Advanced Postdoc.Mobility Scholarship of the Swiss National Science Foundation for the project “Trilogy on a Legal Theory of Animal Rights”
• 2017: Biennial award of the Swiss Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy for the dissertation “Grundrechte für Tiere”
• 2017: Prof. Walther Hug-award for the dissertation “Grundrechte für Tiere”
• 2017: Felix Wankel Animal Welfare Junior Research Award 2017 for the book “Grundrechte für Tiere” and other research related to animal law
• 2016: Faculty award of the University of Basel Law School for the dissertation “Grundrechte für Tiere”
• 2016: Publication grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation for the dissertation “Grundrechte für Tiere”
• 2014: Animals & Society Institute and Wesleyan Animal Studies Human-Animal Studies Fellowship

Conferences

• 15-17 January 2025: Co-organization of the Defund Meat Conference, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law / Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Heidelberg (with Anne Peters)
• 30 Oct.-2 Nov. 2022: Co-organization of the Oxford Handbook of Global Animal Law authors’ workshop, Harvard Law School (with Anne Peters and Kristen Stilt)
• 4-5 April 2022: Co-organization of the Oxford Handbook of Global Animal Law authors’ workshop, Harvard Law School (with Anne Peters and Kristen Stilt)
• 12-13 Nov. 2021: Co-organization of the Oxford Handbook of Global Animal Law authors’ workshop, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (with Anne Peters and Kristen Stilt)
• 4/5 April 2014: Co-organization of the conference “The Animal Turn and the Law”, University of Basel (with Anne Peters)
• 1 March 2013: Co-organization of the conference “Animal Law: Reform or Revolution?”, University of Basel (with Anne Peters)

Other academic activities

• since 2024: Editorial Board member of the Palgrave Macmillan book series “Philosophy, Public Policy, and Transnational Law”
• 2024: Member of the working group “Cross-sectoral evidence-based governance for One Health in the EU”, SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies), European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism
• since 2022: Member of the advisory board of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law
• 1/2021-6/2023: Gender equality officer, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law
• 2021: Initiator and lead author of the World Lawyers’ Pledge on Climate Action
• 2017-2024: Member of the academic advisory board of the Heidelberg Journal of International Law
• 2012: Co-authorship of a legal opinion on the implementation of EU directive 2010/63 in Germany (with Anne Peters)