Kai Schließmann studied chemistry at the Technical University of Darmstadt. His bachelor's thesis dealt with the influence of stereoelectric effects on the orientation properties of helical-chiral polyisonitriles and their synthesis. He completed his master's thesis in 2022 in the group of Prof. Dr. Boris Schmidt. The subject of the thesis was the development of a total synthesis of the β-carboline alkaloid eudistomidine J.

Since January 2023 he is a PhD student in the group of Prof. Dr. Rolf Müller at HIPS and is working on isolation, characterization and de novo structure elucidation of microbial natural products from myxobacteria.