Pierre studied Chemistry at the University of Oxford, UK. He obtained his PhD under the guidance of Prof. Peter H. Seeberger at ETH Zurich. He then moved to Harvard Medical School where he did his postdoc in the laboratory of Prof. J. Clardy. In December 2013, he moved to the Leibniz-HKI as an independent Junior Research Group Leader. In January 2020 he was promoted to head of the Department of Paleobiotechnology. Since December 2021 he is a Professor of Bioorganic Chemistry and Paleobiotechnology at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.