Dr. Lars Behlen has been a Scientific Policy Officer at the Office of the EFI since July 2026. His work focuses in particular on monitoring the Hightech Agenda for Germany (HTAD). Before joining the EFI Office, Lars Behlen worked as a research associate at TH Nürnberg and the University of Erfurt. He completed his doctorate in economics at the University of Erfurt, with a focus on behavioral economics.

Christine Beyer has been Assistant at the EFI Office since October 2011 and is responsible for all administrative and organizational aspects of the Commission’s and the team’s work. She completed vocational training as a wholesale and foreign trade clerk and has also undertaken further professional qualifications, including foreign language correspondent, management assistant, and human resources officer, as well as obtaining the trainer aptitude certification.

Dr. Lea Eilers has been Head of the EFI Office since May 2026. Prior to this role, she served as a Scientific Policy Officer at the EFI Office from June 2022 onward. She earned her doctorate at Ruhr University Bochum under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Thomas K. Bauer and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christoph M. Schmidt, conducting research on small-area data, housing markets, and neighbourhood effects. During her doctoral studies and subsequent work as a postdoctoral researcher, she was affiliated with the Research Data Centre Ruhr (FDZ Ruhr) at the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research. Lea has presented her research at numerous international academic conferences and has represented the FDZ Ruhr on committees such as the German Data Forum's (RatSWD) Research Data Infrastructure Committee.

Dr. Robin Kleer has been supporting the work of the EFI as a Scientific Policy Officer since July 2026. His research focuses on the data economy and its interdependencies with research and innovation (R&I) policy. Prior to joining the EFI Office, Robin was Professor of Innovation Management at Vlerick Business School in Belgium. Robin studied Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Karlsruhe. He subsequently earned his doctorate in Economics from the University of Würzburg and completed his habilitation in Business and Economics at RWTH Aachen University.

Dr. Petra Meurer has been supporting the work of the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI) since November 2008 and has served as Deputy Head of the EFI Office since September 2011. Her work focuses on strategies, instruments, and governance structures in research and innovation (R&I) policy. Prior to joining the EFI Office, Petra worked as a research associate at a regional studies research institute. She studied economics at the University of Kassel, where she subsequently earned her doctorate in economics with a social science orientation.

Antje Michna has been working as a Desk Officer at the EFI office since November 2016. Her main responsibilities include administrative processes such as public procurement, budget planning and management, and contract drafting. Prior to joining EFI, she worked as a project manager at an agency specializing in architectural and spatial design, as well as in the field of marketing. She studied Communication in Social and Economic Contexts at the Berlin University of the Arts, specializing in Strategic Communication Planning and Audiovisual Communication.

Dr. Johannes Stiller has been a Scientific Policy Officer at the EFI Office since June 2021. His work focuses on the further development of indicators used to assess the performance of the German research and innovation system, as well as on their preparation and presentation within the EFI’s Research and Innovation Dashboard (R&I Dashboard). He earned his Ph.D. in Economics with a specialization in Regional and Innovation Economics from the University of Regensburg and conducted research on labour migration at the Thünen Institute of Rural Studies in Braunschweig.

Maria Theißen has been working as a research associate at the EFI office since August 2026. Prior to that, she conducted research as a research assistant at the International Center for Higher Education Research (INCHER) at the University of Kassel in the fields of the economics of science, labor market economics, and family policy, with a focus on the career paths of PhD graduates.