Franz was a graduate student in the lab from 2005-2009, and obtained his Ph.D. from the Zoology Department of the University of Cambridge in 2009.

His doctoral research aimed to understand the underlying genetic basis of how a repeated body unit or segment forms in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Franz’s paper on the role of Delta in cricket segment patterning was published in Development.

He is currently Vice President of Global Contract Manufacturing at Fresenius-Kabi in Germany.