- Chair in English Linguistics at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
- Habilitation in English Linguistics, University of Paderborn
- PhD in English Linguistics, University of Düsseldorf
- Diploma degree in English, Spanish and Agricultural Economics, University of Giessen
- Visiting appointments at the University of Wuppertal (2005) and the University of Duisburg-Essen (2006).
- Publications in the areas of Linguistic Variation, Functional Grammar, Sociolinguistics, Semantics, Pragmatics and Historical Linguistics
- Monographs on More Support for More-Support: The Role of Processing Constraints on the Choice between Synthetic and Analytic Comparative Forms (2009); Gender Differences in English Syntax (2004)
- Co-editor of Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English (2003)
- Co-organizer of symposia and conference workshops:
- Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English (2000)
- The (Non)distinction of the Syntax and Semantics of Adjectives and Adverbs (DGfS Conference 2003)
- Grammatical Differences between British and American English (2004)
- Current research:
- Reflexivity and (de)transitivizing strategies
- The role of language processing in grammatical variation and change
- British-American contrasts in syntax and morphology
- Functional motivation of synthetic-analytic contrasts
- Gender differences