Dominik studied chemistry at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, with a focus on catalysis and organic chemistry. During this time, he undertook research stays in the group of Prof. A. Baiker at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and with Prof. T. Ritter at Harvard University (MA, USA). For both his bachelor's thesis (2013) and master's thesis (2015), he joined the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany) before returning to ETH Zurich, where he completed his PhD in January 2021 under the supervision of Prof. J. Bode.

His work focused on organic synthesis, small molecule synthesis, chemical protein synthesis, and polymerizations. In particular, he developed and applied the Potassium Acyltrifluoroborate (KAT) ligation — a rapid and chemoselective amide-forming reaction — for the preparation of hydrogels, as a tool for post-translational modification, and for polymer conjugation.

In summer 2021, Dominik joined the group of Prof. T. Weil at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research as a postdoctoral researcher, where he is part of the Collaborative Research Center “Nanodimensional Polymer Therapeutics for Tumor Therapy” (CRC1066). His research focuses on developing bioorthogonal ligation reactions that exploit chemical features characteristic of cancer cells (e.g., elevated thiol or proton concentrations) to address limitations in current dynamic-covalent drug delivery systems (prodrugs), working at the interface of organic synthesis and supramolecular chemistry.

In May 2025, he joined the Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine (MERLN) at Maastricht University as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. His research group develops chemical strategies for dynamic-covalent and stimuli-responsive materials tailored for regenerative medicine. A central focus lies on the localized chemical synthesis of bioactive compounds precisely where they are needed in the body. Additionally, the group is exploring methods to monitor chemical reactions in complex environments, including living cells and organisms.