Thorsten studied Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart, Germany and holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics. He started at QIAGEN in 1998, working as a scientist for large-scale plasmid product development. Since 2001, he has been responsible for the entire plasmid product line. Thorsten designed and developed, among others, the successful HiSpeed product line and invented and developed the Plasmid Plus chemistry and product line. Thorsten is an expert in all types of nucleic acid isolation technologies and holds more than 20 patents and patent applications in this field. In his current role, Thorsten works as Senior Director Scientific Affairs in QIAGEN's R&D department in Hilden, Germany.