Mona Garvert

Mona Garvert is Junior Professor for Neuroscience at the Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Würzburg, Germany, since 2023. Previously, she served as Lead Research Scientist at Alena, London (2022-2023) and Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig (2018-2021). Her research integrates cognitive neuroscience with computational modeling to investigate neural mechanisms of memory, decision-making, and learning.

Education:

• PhD in Neuroscience (2011-2016), Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London
• MSc in Neuro-cognitive Psychology (2008-2010), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Master 1 Biosciences (2007-2008), École Normale Superieure de Lyon
• Vordiplom Molekulare Medizin (2005-2007), Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Research Focus: Dr. Garvert pioneers investigations into cognitive maps within the hippocampal-entorhinal system, extending beyond spatial navigation to abstract knowledge structures governing decision-making. Her work employs fMRI and computational modeling to reveal how grid-like neural representations encode value spaces during prospective choices, how spatio-predictive maps guide reward generalization, and how vmPFC mediates value signals. Recent clinical applications include developing digital psychotherapy for social anxiety. Key methodologies span reinforcement learning paradigms, relational memory tasks, and naturalistic decision-making experiments.

Research Trends: Analysis of her 2022-2025 publications shows escalating focus on abstract cognitive mapping (extending hippocampal spatial codes to value domains), clinical translation (digital interventions for anxiety), and computational-social neuroscience (social influence on temporal discounting). Her work increasingly integrates multi-voxel pattern analysis with dynamic decision models, revealing how entorhinal grid codes support non-spatial generalization. Collaborations span Oxford, MPI Leipzig, and international computational neuroscience hubs.

Research Team: Dr. Garvert leads a team at Würzburg including Yuheng Shi, Hannah Reichel, Ishita Goyal, and Johanna Heckmann. She serves as ad-hoc reviewer for Nature, Nature Communications, Neuron, and Wellcome Trust funding panels, reflecting her standing in computational cognitive neuroscience.