He is co-author in >665 scientific papers in international journals (last author in >50%), with an h-index of 77 and >31,000 citations. In addition, he is an inventor of 45 (granted/pending) patents, of which >90% are licensed to European and US companies (e.g. Cytognos, ImmunoSTEP, 300K Biotech, FagoTrace or Becton/Dickinson Biosciences). A major focus of his research has been MBL with multiple relevant contributions in the last 10y, related to: i) sensitive detection approaches and definition of an unprecedented high frequency of MBL in the general population, the presence and implication of immune dysregulation (already at the very early stages) in progression and premature death of MBL due to infection and second tumours, with a potential key role for host-virus infections. This has led to in-depth characterization of immune cells in healthy subjects and patients with antibody deficiencies and of the BCR in MBL vs CLL. Other selected scientific achievements with relevant clinical impact include: i) first definition of mixed phenotype acute leukaemias and its characterization, ii) first demonstration of (direct) systematic CMV involvement in a rare subtype of CD4+ LGL leukaemia with its diagnostic and therapeutic implications, iii) first description of the plasmacytoid dendritic cell origin of a rare subtype of leukaemia/lymphoma and its detailed characterization, preceding its recognition as a separate diagnostic entity by the WHO in 2008; iv) the development of a score for screening of clonal disease in patients with mast cell activation syndrome; v)identification of new variants of systemic mastocytosis including SM in the absence of cutaneous lesions associated with insect bite anaphylaxis and the recent variant of well-differentiated SM with therapeutic implications due to the description of complete responses to imatinib and myelotarg vi) first description of KIT mutation as a hallmark of both aggressive and indolent SM including the prognostic impact of involvement of residual haematopoiesis and mesenchymal cells by the K IT mutation and other mutations , vi) development of novel laboratory diagnostics for leukaemia and lymphoma currently adopted worldwide by >2,000 institutions in US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa; Australia and Latin-America, and that include specific approaches for sensitive detection of CNS involvement in leukaemia and lymphoma at diagnosis in e.g. CNS and blood and after therapy which are internationally adopted and the participation in international projects such as the 1000 Human Genome Project.