Laepple studied physics at the University of Hamburg and subsequently completed his doctoral studies at the University of Bremen in 2009. He then carried out research at AWI in Bremerhaven and also as a Feodor Lynen Fellow at Harvard University. From 2013, Laepple led a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at AWI in Potsdam, where he received an ERC Starting Grant in 2017. The core of his research consists of the characterization of the conditions and dynamics of earth systems based on geological and instrumental data in order to better predict the future developments under the influence of humans.