Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry honors its PhD program graduates

Nine young scientists were honored for their successful participation at the "Translational Psychiatry - From Bed to Bench and Back" PhD program.

On October 07 nine graduates presented their thesis project and received certificates for the successful completion of the Institute‘s PhD program, „Translational Psychiatry - From Bed to Bench and Back“.

The three year PhD Program exposes the students to a variety of topics and fosters an inter-disciplinary approach to solve important questions in psychiatric and neurological research. The graduates’ thesis projects cover a variety of fields including genetics, psychology, informatics, biochemistry, human biology, neuroscience, electrophysiology, and epidemiology, a testimony to the translational science approach of the Institute that hosts basic and clinical research as well as clinical care services under one roof.

The Institute takes great pride in honoring its young scientists for their outstanding accomplishments and congratulates all graduates on the successful completion of their thesis projects.

Benedikt Bedenk: “Mapping brain activity in vivo during spatial learning in mice“ (RG Dr. Carsten Wotjak, Neuronal Plasticity)

Maria Letizia Curzi: “The role of corticotropin-releasing-hormone in REM sleep regulation: A possible mechanisms through the cholinergic system“ (RG Mayumi Kimura, PhD, Neurogenetics of Sleep)

Nils Christian Gassen: “The stress factor FKPB51 orchestrates pathways targeted by psycho-active Drugs“ (RG Dr. Theo Rein, Chaperones)

Leonie Herrmann: “Identification and characterization of novel candidate molecules for PTSD” (RG Dr. Ulrike Schmidt, Molecular Psychotraumatology)

Florian Hladky: “Optical dissection of amygdalar network dynamics related to stress, anxiety and pharmacological treatment“ (RG Dr. Matthias Eder, Neuronal Network Dynamics)

Sara Alessia Kiem: “fMRT-resting state networks in healthy volunteers: Prediction of the HPA-Axis - status and modulation with cortisol application and suppression“ (RG Dr. Michael Czisch, Neuroimaging)

Alexander Kirschner: “Effects of FKBP51 on neuronal cell differentiation“ (RG Dr. Felix Hausch, Chemical Genomics)

Boris Nikolai Konrad: “Characteristics and neuronal correlates of superior memory performances“ (RG Czisch, Neuroimaging and RG Steiger, Endocrinology of Sleep)

Christian Webhofer: "Antidepressant activated biochemical pathways and biomarker candidates“ (Prof. Dr. Christoph W. Turck, Proteomics and Biomarkers)

Not present at the ceremony were the following students, who also successfully completed the Institute’s PhD program in the past year: Julia Brenndörfer (RG Landgraf), Anne-Katrin Fabian (RG Hausch), Jan-Michael Heinzmann (RG Touma), Patrick Markt (RG Landgraf), Roshan Naik (RG Landgraf) and Carina Quast (RG Binder)

MG