Originally from Austria, Denis moved to the UK to undertake his undergraduate in chemistry at the University of Oxford, where he also pursued a DPhil under supervision of Dr Michael Booth on light-controllable oligonucleotides.

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Denis joined the Barendt group at the University of Birmingham as postdoctoral researcher in April 2023, working on chiral perylene diimide-based materials for chiroptical applications.

In April 2026, he joined the University of Sheffield as a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, working on interlocked molecules for biological applications.

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His research interests revolve around optically active, stimuli-responsive organic molecules with uses in biology and materials science. Outside of the lab, Denis enjoys folk music, nature, board games and cooking.