Martin Kräter studied “biology” and “cell biology and genetics” at the University of Leipzig and graduated (M.Sc.) from the institute for medical microbiology and virology under supervision of Uwe G. Liebert. After an internship at the German Cancer Research Center in Halle (Saale) investigating transcription factors in acute myeloid leukemia development he moved on to the Technical University of Dresden where he received his PhD in hematopoietic stem cell development in 2017 (summa cum laude). During that time, he teamed up with the group of Jochen Guck to investigate the physical properties of hematopoietic stem cells during blood cell development and started his first postdoc establishing real-time deformability cytometry for blood cell measurements. After moving to the Max Plank Institute for the Science of Light & the Max-Plank-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin in Erlangen he was promoted to laboratory manager and researcher group leader in microfluidic-based blood cell diagnostics. His research centers on exploring the physical properties of blood cells in physiological and pathological conditions, aiming at establishing those features as new biomarkers. He has authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications and his work has been recognized by the young scientist award of the German Society for Cell Biology in 2019, the Medical Valley Award of the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft Landesentwicklung und Energie in 2020.