Caren Norden received her PhD in Biology from the Institute of Biochemistry, ETH-Zurich in Switzerland. After her post-doctoral work there, and at Cambridge University, UK, she moved to a group leader position at the Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden in 2010. The goal of the research in her lab is to understand tissue formation on a cellular basis. In particular, they aim to understand how the retina forms from the eyefield into a multilayered neuronal structure in zebrafish. Furthermore, to elucidate how neurons once born reach their final position at which they polarize and fulfill their function.