After his studies of chemistry and biology and his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Göttingen, Helge Bode did research in Göttingen, Braunschweig and as a scholarship holder at Stanford University, USA. In 2004, he accepted a junior professorship at Saarland University before moving to Frankfurt University in 2008, where he conducted research within the framework of ERC Starting and Advanced Grants. Director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg.