Victor Spoormaker

Dr. Victor Spoormaker is a Research Professor and Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry's Department of Genes and Environment, where he directs the Psychophysiology Lab. He is affiliated with the Scientific-Therapeutic Outpatient Clinic and has previously conducted research in the Netherlands and England.

His research focuses on translational psychiatry, integrating clinical psychology and neuroscience through physiological biomarkers. Key interests include:

• Affective processes and emotion-related biomarkers
• Sleep disorders, particularly nightmares and PTSD
• Neuroimaging (fMRI) and psychophysiological measurements
• Wearable technology for at-home monitoring

Recent publications (2014–2025) emphasize neuroimaging of fear conditioning, multi-omics in depression, sleep therapeutics, and nightmare etiology. Trends show a strong focus on large-scale clinical neuroscience and biomarker validation.

Dr. Spoormaker leads projects using the institute's MRI, VR lab, and wearables to advance objective diagnostics in psychiatry.