Fabien Vinckier serves as Associate Professor of Psychiatry at University of Paris and practicing psychiatrist at GHU Paris Psychiatry & Neuroscience (Service Hospitalo-Universitaire), specializing in treatment-resistant depression and schizophrenia. His research program bridges computational psychiatry, cognitive neuroscience, and psychopharmacology to decode cognitive pathophysiology in severe mental disorders. Key focus areas include: Emergence mechanisms of delusional ideas Characterization of motivation disorders Neural correlates of slow kinetics variables (e.g., mood) This work investigates how pathological mental representations form, influence decision-making processes, and respond to pharmacological/neurostimulation interventions. Dr. Vinckier's hospital-university dual role enables direct translation of clinical observations into computational models, with research specifically targeting treatment-resistant populations through quantitative analysis of cognitive dysfunctions and intervention responses.
Marianne Müller is a Professor for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, leading a research group focused on resilience mechanisms. Her interdisciplinary team integrates human medicine, natural sciences, and translational research to address fundamental questions in stress resilience. Her research centers on resilience to stressful life events , with two primary pillars: (1) developing animal models for stress/resilience and (2) elucidating neurobiological mechanisms of resilience-promoting interventions. Key projects include characterizing resilience in mouse models, stress inoculation paradigms, DRR1 protein dynamics, ketamine's molecular actions, and dynamic system analysis tools. The group's publication trends reveal strong emphasis on translational neuroscience (71% of articles), with subfields spanning rapid-acting antidepressants, glial cell biology, and stress-induced metabolic-cognitive interactions. Methodologically, they prioritize proteomics, behavioral phenotyping, and molecular validation in animal models. Müller's leadership includes managing a 6-member research team and securing funding from major sources like DFG and Boehringer Ingelheim Stiftung. Her collaborative network spans Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie, Stanford University, and Emory University. The group operates within the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, leveraging the University Medical Center's infrastructure for translational work. Current initiatives focus on instrument development for dynamic system analysis (IDSAIR project) and pharmacological modeling of resilience factors.
Helmholtz Association of German Research CentersGermany
Prof. Dr. Martin Fuhrmann serves as a Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. His research focuses on unraveling the pathological mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease through investigation of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and synaptic dysfunction. His laboratory investigates how extracellular amyloid-beta deposition and intracellular tau aggregation drive synapse and neuron loss, with particular emphasis on GABAergic neuron deficits in the hippocampus and microglial interactions with neural circuits. The team employs advanced in vivo imaging techniques combined with electrophysiological, histological, and biochemical analyses in transgenic mouse models, supplemented by optogenetic and chemogenetic neuronal modulation approaches. Based at DZNE's Venusberg Campus (53127 Bonn), the research group operates within Germany's leading neurodegenerative disease research infrastructure, contributing to translational studies aimed at developing novel therapeutic interventions for cognitive decline.
Helmholtz Association of German Research CentersGermany
Prof. Dr. Dirk Isbrandt is a Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Cologne, Germany, hosted by the University Hospital Cologne under the University of Cologne. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms of neurological channelopathies and cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes using transgenic mouse models. His primary research areas encompass: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of ion channel diseases (channelopathies) Functional characterization of mutations in ion channel genes using transgenic mouse models Analysis of network activity changes in hippocampus, cortex, and basal ganglia correlated with behavior and cognition Pharmacological interventions for channelopathies targeting network activity normalization Pathophysiological consequences of impaired cerebral creatine synthesis and transport Dr. Isbrandt's laboratory employs a multidimensional strategy integrating electrophysiology, molecular biology, and behavioral testing to dissect disease mechanisms across multiple biological scales. His work bridges molecular defects with systemic network dysfunction and cognitive manifestations. He maintains active research operations at the DZNE site within University Hospital Cologne (LFI/Building 13, Level 4, Room 053), though no specific students, major grants, or awards are documented in the provided materials.
Helmholtz Association of German Research CentersGermany
Prof. Dr. Jonas Neher serves as a Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Munich, where he leads research focused on the role of microglia and immune responses in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease. His laboratory investigates how peripheral inflammation affects brain pathology through mechanisms like innate immune memory and epigenetic reprogramming. Dr. Neher's research program centers on understanding how microglia contribute to Alzheimer's pathology, particularly amyloidosis and neuronal damage. He has demonstrated that microglia are capable of 'remembering' inflammatory insults through epigenetic reprogramming, creating long-term adaptations that significantly affect brain disease progression. His work has established innate immune memory as a previously unrecognized non-genetic risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, he studies vascular dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease, with a particular focus on medin amyloid, which is now recognized as a common factor in age-related arterial stiffening and a potential therapeutic target for millions affected by cognitive decline. Analysis of Dr. Neher's publication record reveals a strong trajectory from fundamental immunological mechanisms to translational applications. His recent work (2022-2024) shows increasing focus on medin amyloid's role in vascular pathology, with high-impact publications in Nature and Nature Aging. His laboratory has developed specialized single-cell profiling techniques that combine transcriptomic and epigenetic analyses to better understand cellular heterogeneity in neurodegenerative conditions. This methodological innovation enables more precise characterization of microglial subtypes and their responses to inflammatory stimuli. Dr. Neher leads an active research group investigating how peripheral inflammatory stimuli affect the brain's immune response and contribute to neurodegenerative disease pathology. His laboratory has developed specialized methods for profiling microglia and other brain cells at the single-cell level, combining transcriptomic and epigenetic analyses to better understand cellular heterogeneity in health and disease. His research bridges basic science with potential clinical applications, particularly in developing new therapeutic strategies targeting both immune and vascular components of Alzheimer's disease.
Helmholtz Association of German Research CentersGermany
Prof. Dr. Mikael Simons serves as a W3-Professor and Director of the Institute of Neuronal Cell Biology at Technical University Munich (TUM) and as a Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Munich. His lab is also affiliated with the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD). He additionally serves as Head of Clinical Research & Clinical Trial Unit Munich at DZNE. Dr. Simons' research focuses on glial biology, particularly on oligodendrocytes and myelin in the central nervous system, and microglia in neuroinflammation. His work spans from fundamental mechanisms of myelin formation and maintenance to understanding how glial dysfunction contributes to neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. His lab employs advanced techniques including genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and advanced light and electron microscopy. Recent publications reveal a strong trend toward understanding the intersection of lipid metabolism, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration, with particular emphasis on how myelin dysfunction contributes to Alzheimer's disease pathology and how aging affects white matter integrity. His work increasingly connects glial cell biology with broader metabolic and inflammatory processes in the brain. National award for the best MD thesis in Germany (1995) EMBO Young Investigator Award (2008) ERC Starting Grant (2008), ERC Consolidator Grant (2014), ERC Advanced Grant (2020) Ilse & Hans Breuer Award for Alzheimer Disease Research (2014) Member of German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2023) Dr. Simons actively mentors numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, with his lab currently hosting over a dozen graduate students. His research is supported by multiple prestigious funding sources including European Research Council grants, the Adelson Medical Research Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. He also leads the Collaborative Research Centre (TRR 274) and co-heads the single-cell genomics hub and electron microscopy hub within the Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy). The Simons Lab operates at the Center of Stroke and Dementia Research at Campus Grosshadern in Munich, with close collaborations across multiple institutions including TUM, DZNE, and ISD. The lab employs diverse experimental models including mice, zebrafish, and iPSC-derived human cell systems to investigate fundamental aspects of glial cell biology in health and disease.
Helmholtz Association of German Research CentersGermany
Prof. Dr. Alexander Storch serves as Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Rostock, Germany. His research focuses on movement disorders and neurodegenerative conditions with particular emphasis on non-motor symptoms and regenerative therapies. The Storch group specializes in characterizing and treating non-motor symptoms in movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and ALS. Their research employs learning and memory tests combined with functional and morphological imaging techniques to study cognitive dysfunctions. The team investigates stem-cell based therapies for Parkinson's disease using fetal tissue-specific neural stem cells, adult neural stem cells, and bone marrow-derived stem cells. Research in the Storch laboratory explores fundamental stem cell biology, examining proliferation and differentiation into functional dopaminergic neurons. They investigate mechanisms governing predopaminergic precursor cells and study adult neurogenesis in both healthy and diseased conditions to identify targets for endogenous regeneration. Their in vivo studies focus on improving targeted dopaminergic reinnervation of the nigrostriatal pathway using biopolymer-assisted stem cell transplantation. The research group maintains active laboratory facilities in Rostock at Gehlsheimer Str. 20, 18147 Rostock, with direct contact available through email and phone for scientific collaboration and inquiry.
Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human FactorsGermany
Professor Thomas Kleinsorge serves as Head of the Flexible Behavior Control Research Group at the Institute for Work Medicine, Social Medicine and Environmental Medicine (IFADO) within the Psychology & Neuroscience division at Ruhr University Bochum. His research focuses on cognitive processes related to executive control, task switching, and cognitive ergonomics. Dr. Kleinsorge's research interests center on the cognitive mechanisms underlying human behavior control. His work explores how individuals manage multiple tasks, resolve stimulus-response conflicts, and maintain cognitive flexibility while balancing stability in performance. His research integrates cognitive psychology with practical applications in work environments and clinical settings. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on cognitive control mechanisms, with particular emphasis on task switching paradigms, affective distraction, and the interplay between emotional processing and executive functions. His work spans both theoretical cognitive frameworks and applied contexts such as remote work during the pandemic and clinical applications of cognitive conflict tasks. Dr. Kleinsorge has maintained an active publication record with numerous articles in reputable journals including Psychological Research, Frontiers in Psychology, Cognition, and the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
