On Friday the 29th of November 2013 Felix Ströckens defended his PhD thesis entitled „Evolutionary and ontogenetic processes of neuronal lateralization in vertebrates”. The title already demonstrates the wide angle of research and insight that Felix is commanding. With his experiments and analyses Felix shows that brain asymmetries have a very old past and can emerge with subtle molecular left-right differences. Most astonishingly, Felix also shows that different anatomical asymmetries can produce nearly identical lateralized behavior. In his defense Felix stood the ground, despite partly inquisitorial questions. What an impressive performance! Therefore, the committee unanimously decided to award him the title Dr. rer. nat. Congratulations Felix! We are proud of you.