Miriam A. Mosing

Miriam A. Mosing, PhD, is currently the Head of the Behavior Genetics unit at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, a position she has held since August 2021. She also serves as an Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Neuroscience Department at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and holds a Develop Research Momentum (DRM) Senior Research Fellowship at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Dr. Mosing's primary research focuses on behavior genetics, specifically examining how genetic and environmental factors interact to influence individual differences in quality of life throughout the lifespan and expertise acquisition. Her work frequently uses musical expertise as a model domain to study these interactions. She investigates the complex relationships between cultural engagement (particularly musical and creative activities), mental health, social isolation, loneliness, stress, flow experiences, and overall well-being. Her research employs advanced methodologies including twin studies, causal modeling, and genome-wide association studies to disentangle the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors.

Her publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to understanding the genetic architecture of human behavior, with recent work examining dancer personalities, musical ability, cognitive aging, mental health outcomes, and gene-environment interactions in expertise development. Her research has significant implications for identifying causal pathways that could inform interventions to improve quality of life and mental health outcomes.

• Develop Research Momentum (DRM) Fellowship from the University of Melbourne (2020-2025)
• Marcus och Amalia Wallenbergs Foundation grant for 'Healthy learning' research (2018-2022)
• National Institute of Aging research project grant (2018-2022)
• Multiple Karolinska Institutet Fellowships for research on gene-environment interplay

Dr. Mosing leads a research program that integrates large-scale twin studies with advanced genetic methodologies to understand the complex pathways through which genetic predispositions and environmental exposures jointly shape human development, health, and expertise. Her Behavior Genetics unit at the Max Planck Institute serves as a hub for international collaboration on these questions, working with twin registries and research groups across multiple countries.