Steven Johnsen was born in Fargo, North Dakota (USA) in 1977. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry from the University of Idaho in 1999. He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2003. After that he was an Alexander von Humboldt and NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) post-doctoral fellow first at the Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg (ZMNH) (2003-2006) and then at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg (2006-2007). In 2007 Dr. Johnsen started his own research group as an Assistant Professor (W1) in the Institute of Molecular Oncology at the University of Göttingen. In 2012 he assumed a position as Associate Professor (W2) in the Institute for Tumor Biology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf before returning to Göttingen in 2014 as a Full Professor (W3) in the Department of General, Visceral & Pediatric Surgery. During this time Dr. Johnsen served in various university leadership roles in both education and research. In 2019 Dr. Johnsen returned to the Mayo Clinic as a Full Professor for Medicine & Pharmacology in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. In February 2022 he assumed his current position as Scientific Director of the Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases. In addition to his role as Scientific Director, Johnsen also leads his own research group entitled “Molecular Cancer Epigenetics” at the Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases. The group investigates the epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms controlling tumor cell identity and therapy responsiveness. Johnsen has published over 100 scientific articles since the year 2000 (including over 40 last author publications since 2008). His work has been supported by numerous research organizations and foundations including the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Deutsche Krebshilfe, Bundesminesterium für Bildung und Forschung, Erich und Gertrud Roggenbuck Stiftung, Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur Niedersachsen, National Institutes of Health, China Scholarship Council, Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, etc.
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