I obtained my MSc in Physics at Chalmers/Gothenburg University, Sweden in 1999. After an intermezzo in industry, I completed my PhD in Chemistry with Prof. Alain Brisson at the University of Bordeaux, France in 2004. Following a postdoctoral stay at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, I established my own research group at CIC biomaGUNE, San Sebastian, Spain in 2007, and became associate professor at the University of Leeds, UK in 2016. My lab develops and exploits tools from soft matter physics and nanoscale chemistry to understand how biological systems self-organise and function. The current research focuses on understanding (i) how glycan-rich extracellular matrices control the communication between cells in our tissues, and (ii) how the large pores that perforate the nuclear envelope in our cells control the transport of macromolecules into and out of the nucleus. In both areas we aim to discover physical and molecular mechanisms underpinning biological functions and to harness these for biomedical applications. Our efforts span from molecules to model matrices to cells, and have been supported by a Starting Grant of the European Research Council and a Chair of Excellence from the Nanoscience Foundation (Grenoble, France). I have trained >15 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, published >60 peer reviewed articles (H-index >30) and delivered >60 invited lectures at international meetings.