Elke Anklam is a chemist, with specialisation in food, organic and radiation chemistry. After obtaining her PhD from the University Hamburg (Germany), she worked in various European Research Institutions and was a Teaching Professor at the Applied University of Fulda (Germany).

Since 1991, she has been working at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC). Since 2006, she has a Director position in the JRC. At present, she is the Director of the JRC-Geel site and Director of JRC Directorate F: Health, Consumers & Reference Material, located at the JRC-Geel and JRC-Ispra site.