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Chance favours the prepared mind

Team Leader

Rupert Lanzenberger

Univ.-Prof. Rupert Lanzenberger, MD, PD

Professor in Clinical Neurosciences


rupert.lanzenberger[@]meduniwien.ac.at
tel: +43-1-40400-35760


MEDLINE Publications
CV

Our main research areas include multimodal neuroimaging using PET and fMRI in both psychiatric and neurological patients in comparison to healthy controls, neuroimaging in psychopharmacology, psychoneuroendocrinology including gender medicine, cognitive neuroscience, genetic neuroimaging and experimental neuronuclear medicine. Currently, we are focused on research within the serotonergic system and are investigating pharmacological effects on the serotonin transporter, the main inhibitory (5-HT1A) serotonergic receptor subtype, and task-specific brain activation. Recently, new multimodal neuroimaging approaches combining pharmacological MRI (phMRI) and PET have been developed. These methodological advancements allow for the evaluation of drug effects in the brain of healthy subjects and patients. By combining molecular and functional imaging information regarding relationship between neurochemical, structural and functional alterations in psychiatric and neurological disorders may be gleaned.

Senior Researchers

Andreas HahnAndreas Hahn, MSc PhD PD Associate Prof. Principal Investigator

andreas.hahn[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Andreas joined the group through his master's thesis in November 2007 in the field of biomedical engineering completing parts of his studies in Valencia, Spain and Helsinki, Finland. He finished his PhD in Dec. 2012 with the focus on PET quantification methods. The emphasis of his work is on the investigation of brain networks by combining multiple imaging modalities obtained with simultaneous PET/MR. He is specifically interested to further develop the method of functional PET imaging (fPET) with [18F]FDG to study dynamic changes in glucose metabolism. Andreas was Researcher of the Month of the Medical University of Vienna in Nov. 2012, became head of the Lab's data analysis team in 2015 and Associate Professor in Dec 2018.

Georg KranzGeorg Kranz, MSc, PhD, PD, Research Ass. Prof. (tenure track (EV) apl. Prof.)

georg.kranz[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Georg S. Kranz joined the research lab after receiving his MSc (Mag.rer.nat.) in Psychology at the University of Vienna in November 2008. Georg went on to earn his PhD in Clinical Neurosciences at the Medical University of Vienna in August 2013. He received his habilitation in “NEUROSCIENCES” (venia docendi) with “Imaging the effects of sex steroid hormones on brain structure and function” in April 2016. Since 2017 Georg has been head of the TMS Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW. He started his appointment as Research Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong in August 2018.

Pia BaldingerPia Baldinger-Melich, MD PhD Assistant Prof.

pia.baldinger[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Dr. Pia Baldinger studied medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, where she received her doctoral degree in July 2009. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in April 2010 and started her clinical training in psychiatry in July 2010. She is involved in different neuroimaging studies examining the serotonergic system. In june 2015 she got married and finished successfully the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with her thesis "Influence of genetic variants on serotonergic neurotransmission (defensio june 12th). In Nov. 2016 she became Assistant Professor.

Anna HöflichAnna Höflich, MD PhD (tenure track (EV) apl. Prof.)

anna.hoeflich[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Anna Höflich studied medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, graduating in March 2010. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in April 2010. She started her clinical training in psychiatry in March 2011 and finished successfully the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" (supervisor: R. Lanzenberger) with her thesis “Influence of ketamine on brain structure and function – investigations in healthy volunteers using pharmacological MRI” (defensio may 30th, 2018).

Thomas VanicekThomas Vanicek, MD PhD

thomas.vanicek[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Thomas Vanicek graduated in medicine at the Medical University of Vienna in August 2011. He joined the Neuroimaging lab in Oktober 2011, enrolled in the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience", and is involved in several PET and fMRI-studies examining the neurobiological basis of psychiatric disorders. He started his clinical training in September 2012 at the psychosomatic devision of the department for child and adolescent medicine. He continued his residency in adult psychiatry in August 2013 at the department for psychiatry and psychotherapy. In may 2017 he completed successfully the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with his thesis "Molecular imaging in adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder" (defensio may 18th).

Rene SeigerRené Seiger, Mag MSc PhD

rene.seiger[@]meduniwien.ac.at

René studied Cognitive Science and Philosophy in Vienna, carrying out parts of his studies in Ljubljana. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in March 2013. His research interests comprise the neurobiological basis of psychiatric disorders as well as neurophenomenology. In February 2018 he completed successfully the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with his thesis "Assessing modulatory effects of sex-steroid hormones on the human brain with ultra-high fields and multimodal neuroimaging" (defensio february 20th).

Gregor GryglewskiGregor Gryglewski, MD PhD

gregor.gryglewski[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Gregor joined the Neuroimaging lab in April 2012. After completing his diploma thesis, at age 21, he enrolled in the MD-PhD program of excellence of the Medical University of Vienna, thus becoming one of the youngest PhD students in Vienna. In the scope of his doctoral thesis project he attempts construct models based on PET molecular imaging data of the serotonergic system to predict brain activation during pharmacological challenges as measured by hybrid PET/MR imaging. Still a medical student he received several awards, e.g. the ÖGPB Clinical Psychiatry Award and he was "Researcher of the Month" "Researcher of the Month" of the Medical University of Vienna in June 2015. He started his clinical training in psychiatry in September 2015 and is recipient of a DOC fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In February 2019 he successfully completed the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with his thesis "Multimodal mapping of protein distribution in the brain using positron emission tomography and transcriptome data" (defensio Feb 2nd).

Alexander KautzkyAlexander Kautzky, MD PhD

alexander.kautzky[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Alexander Kautzky has been part of the the Neuroimaging Lab team since April 2011, when he began working on his diploma thesis "The influence of genetic variants on serotonin transporter binding under SSRI treatment in major depressive disorder." He finished his thesis in 2012 (defensio may 31, 2012). During the time up to his graduation from the Medical University of Vienna in July 2013, he assisted with PET and fMRI imaging studies and facilitated the co-operational project "Effects of sex hormones on cardiovascular risk". He has participated in the "Clinical Neuroscience" doctoral programme since August 2013 and has begun his training as a psychiatrist in October 2013, working at the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical University and at the Forensic Unit “Justizanstalt Josefstadt”. In March 2019 he successfully completed the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with his thesis "Combining sociodemographic, clinical and genetic predictors in major depressive disorder; the potential of multivariate models" (defensio Mar 27th).

Researchers

Arkadiusz KomorowskiArkadiusz Komorowski, MD

arkadiusz.komorowski[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Arkadiusz Komorowski joined the Neuroimaging Lab after graduating from the Medical University of Vienna. In 2013, he enrolled in the doctoral programme “Clinical Neuroscience” and began his research activity related to fMRI and PET imaging. After finishing his clinical training in psychiatry, he is now involved in forensic psychiatry as well as neuroimaging.

Marius HienertMarius Hienert, MD MSc

marius.hienert[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Marius Hienert graduated in medicine at the Medical University of Vienna in August 2012. After his time as a military physican in the Austrian army he started training as a cardiologist in Germany. In 2014 he came back to Vienna and began his clinical training in psychiatry at the Otto-Wagner-Spital. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2014, enrolled in the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience". In July 2015 he continued his clinical training at our Department.

Lucas Rischka Lucas Rischka, MSc (Dipl.Ing.)

Lucas Rischka received his Bachelor’s degree in Medical Informatics from the Vienna University of Technology. He joined the Neuroimaging Labs in February 2014 to work on his Master’s thesis about different attenuation correction methods in hybrid PET/MR brain imaging. In Oct. 2016 he finished the Master’s program Biomedical Engineering: Medical Physics and Imaging at the Vienna University of Technology and enrolled in the doctoral program Clinical Neurosciences at the Medical University focusing on multimodal imaging with hybrid PET/MRI systems.

Manfred Klöbl, BSc MSc (Dipl.Ing.)Manfred Klöbl, BSc MSc (Dipl.Ing.)

Manfred Klöbl received his Bachelor’s degree in Medical Informatics form the Vienna University of Technology in 2013. For his Master’s program, he switched to the Medical University of Vienna to focus on Neuroinformatics, including the fields artificial intelligence and computer-aided brain research. In October 2014, he joined the Neuroimaging Lab and finished his diploma thesis in 2015 (defensio: Nov. 18th). He started his PhD in Clinical Neuroscience in Nov. 2015. The aim of his work is to optimize the processing strategies for functional magnetic resonance imaging and multimodal imaging data.

Jakob UnterholznerJakob Unterholzner, MD

Jakob Unterholzner has been studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2009. Having joined the senior mentoring programme under the direction of A/Prof. Lanzenberger, he decided to follow up on his interest in neuroimaging and worked at the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, and finished his diploma thesis "The influence of urbanisation on brain activation during the emotion discrimination task using ultrahigh-field 7T functional magnetic resonance imagin" in May 2015. During his Clinical Practical Year (KPJ) he was working in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Zurich, Vienna. He started his scientific career at the neuroimaging labs in march and his clinical training in psychiatry in may 2016.

Dr.scient.med. Benjamin Spurny, MSc, BScDr.scient.med. Benjamin Spurny, MSc, BSc

Benjamin Spurny recieved his Bachelor´s degress in Biomedicine and Biotechnology at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. Working on his Master´s thesis about surface-based quantification of PET data, he joined the Neuroimaging Labs in August 2015. After finishing his Master´s program in Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition at the University of Vienna in September 2016 he enrolled in the doctoral program Clinical Neuroscience at the Medical University of Vienna, working on the quantification of neurotransmitter using MRS.

Godber Mathis GodbersenGodber Mathis Godbersen, MD

Mathis is a clinical neuroscience PhD student (starting in April 2016) and medical doctor. He studied biology and human medicine and joined the Neuroimaging Labs in 2012 as a diploma student. In his MD thesis he investigated the effects of sex steroid hormones on the neuronal correlates of facial emotion discrimination in a longitudinal 7 Tesla fMRI study. During the clinical practical training as a student, he worked at the Charité Campus Benjamin Franklin in Berlin, in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Compostela and at the Medical University of Vienna. He completed his 9m basic medical training (ENT, Psychiatry) at the General Hospital of Vienna in March 2017. At the moment he focuses on this scientific work concerning transcranial magnetic stimulation and the effects of sleep deprivation investigated with functional and molecular neuroimaging.

Leo SilberbauerLeo Silberbauer, MD

Leo Silberbauer joined the Neuroimaging Lab as a medical student in August 2014 and completed his diploma thesis entitled “Monoamine oxidase - A quantification in the living human brain using positron emission tomography and [11C]Harmine” in Dec 2015. He was accepted to the MDPhD programme of excellence of the Medical University of Vienna in Oct 2016. Within the scope of the doctoral programme “Clinical Neuroscience” he investigates ketamine´s antidepressant effect combining functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography. He graduated in medicine at the Medical University of Vienna in July 2017 and started his career as a medical doctor in Oct 2017 at our lab, department of psychiatry.

Paul MichenthalerPaul Michenthaler, MD

Paul joined the Neuroimaging Labs during the final year of his studies, in August 2017. After completing his diploma thesis on „Cyclic Peptides and their Use as Immunomodulating Substances“ at the Department for Pharmacology and Physiology, he started his doctoral studies, enrolling in the PhD program „Clinical Neurosciences“. At the moment his main research focus lies in molecular changes in major depression. He serves the lab as research fellow and doctor for clinical trials and started his clinical training in April 2018.

Murray ReedMurray Reed, MSc

Murray Reed received his Bachelor’s degree in Medical Informatics from the University of Vienna. He joined the Neuroimaging Labs in October 2017 to work on his Master’s Thesis titled: “A data driven assessment of the pharmacological response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in resting-state fMRI data.” After finishing his Master´s program in Biomedical Engineering (Defensio: June 2018) he enrolled in the doctoral program Clinical Neuroscience at the Medical University of Vienna. His main focus is on pharmacological functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging combined with transcriptomics in the human brain.

Matej MurgasMatej Murgas, MSc, MSc

Matej received his Bachelor's degree in Cybernetics and Robotics from Czech Technical University in Prague in 2013. At the same university, in 2016, he received his first Master degree diploma in Biomedical Engineering. The thesis was focused on the uses of machine learning methods in the task of long term EEG data processing. In June, 2018 he finished his second Master's studies at Aalto University in the study programme Human Neurosciences and -technology. After studies in Finland he joined Neuroimaging Lab in July 2018. He will start his PhD studies at Medical University of Vienna in October 2018 in the study programme Medical Neuroscience (https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/hp/phd-neuroscience/)

Patricia Anna Handschuh Patricia Anna Handschuh, MD, BA

Patricia Anna Handschuh received her Bachelor’s degree in transcultural communication at the University of Vienna in 2014. She studied human medicine at the Medical University of Vienna and completed two internships in Bern (Switzerland) and Montevideo (Uruguay). She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in July 2017 to work on her diploma thesis "Resting state connectivity changes by learning visual stimuli associated with and without emotional valance". She graduated in medicine at the Medical University of Vienna in 2018 and started her career as a medical doctor and PhD student in Clinical Neurosciences in 2018 at our lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.

Ramona HampRamona Hamp, BSc MSc

Ramona Hamp received her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communication Science from the University of Vienna. She studied Psychology and Gender Studies in Vienna. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in September 2016 to work on her Master’s thesis (supervisor: PD Dr. G. Kranz) and finished her thesis “The effects of hormone replacement therapy on reactive aggression, self-aggression/depression and aggression inhibition in gender dysphoria – a retrospective study” in 2018 (defensio: June 20th, 2018).

Visiting scientists and researchers in external training, sabbatical, parental leave

Marie SpiesMarie Spies, MD PhD

marie.spies[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Marie Spies was born in the United States and moved to Austria in 2006. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab as a medical student in August 2012 and completed her diploma thesis entitled "The Influence of Cross-sex Hormone Therapy on Brain Activation During the Stop Signal Task Measured with Ultrahigh-field 7T fMRI" in June 2013. She is involved in several fMRI studies and began her medical training in psychiatry in June 2013. In March 2019 she successfully completed the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with her thesis "Neuroimaging of the serotonergic system in depression andantidepressant treatment" (defensio Feb 25th).

Helen Laufey Sigurdardottir Helen Laufey Sigurdardottir, MSc PhD

n1342706[@]students.meduniwien.ac.at

Helen studied Psychology at the University of Iceland, and received her MSc in Neuroscience in October 2013 from the Universidad Autónoma in Madrid. She moved to Vienna and joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2013. While her range of interests are broad, her current focus lies in PET imaging and genetics. In 2019 she completed successfully the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with her thesis "Investigation into the molecular mechanisms of the norepinephrine and serotonin transporters in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder." (defensio March 4th).

Christoph KrausChristoph Kraus, MD PhD (tenure track (EV) apl. Prof.)

christoph.kraus[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Dr. Christoph Kraus joined the Neuroimaging Group after graduating from Medical University in Vienna in Sept. 2009. He started his clinical training in psychiatry in September 2011. In december 2015 he completed successfully the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with his thesis "Serotonin and Neuroplasticity – Investigated in vivo by Positron Emission Tomography and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging. (defensio december 10th). In June 2018, he started as Visiting Fellow at NIMH / USA.

Sebastian GangerSebastian Ganger, MSc

sebastian.ganger[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Sebastian graduated at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, completing the study program Biomedical Engineering, receiving a Master of Science in June 2012. He joined the group while working on his diploma thesis in October 2011. He is currently finishing his PhD thesis in "Clinical Neuroscience" focused on fMRI and connectivity.

Erika ComascoErika Comasco, PhD

erika.comasco[@]neuro.uu.se

Erika studied Pharmacy at the University of Pavia and earned her doctoral degree in Neuroscience at Uppsala University. She collaborated since 2011 and joined the "Functional, Molecular and Translational Neuroimaging - PET & MRI" group as guest researcher supported by a grant of the Swedish Medical Society in 2013. She is involved in a neuroimaging genetic project on influence of sex steroid hormones on the human brain using high-field magnetic resonance imaging.

Undergraduate Students

Sebastian Klug Sebastian Klug, BA

Sebastian Klug received his Bachelor’s degree in philosophy at the Munich School of Philosophy. He began his studies in human medicine at the Medical University of Vienna in 2015 and joined the Neuroimaging Lab in February 2018 to work on his diploma thesis.

Benjamin Eggerstorfer Benjamin Eggerstorfer

Benjamin Eggerstorfer started studying human medicine at the Medical University of Vienna in 2014. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in November 2017 to work on his diploma thesis about the antidepressant efficacy of oral ketamine treatment.

Dzanan Joldic Dzanan Joldic

Dzanan Joldic is studying human medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in November 2017 to work on his diploma thesis about structural changes in the brain after SSRI therapy in major depressive disorder investigated with MRI.

Felix Otti Felix Otti

Felix Otti is a student at the Medical University of Vienna. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in November 2017 to work on his diploma thesis "Enhancement of learning associated neural plasticity by Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors".

Georg Thalmann Georg Peter Thalmann

Georg Thalmann is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2012. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in November 2017 to work on his diploma thesis.

Tilman Steuernagel Tilman Steuernagel

Tilman Steuernagel is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2014. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2017 to work on his diploma thesis on the effects of theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation on structural connectivity investigated with diffusion tensor imaging.

Valentin Spreitzhofer Valentin Spreitzhofer

Valentin Spreitzhofer started studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna in 2014. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2017 to work on his diploma thesis about SSRI-dependent neuroplasticity measured with functional MRI.

Martin Puchner Martin Puchner

Martin Puchner started studying medicine at the MUW in 2014. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2017 to work on his diploma thesis about the SSRI-dependent neuroplasticity measured by structural MRI.

Valentin Popper Valentin Popper

Valentin Popper is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2013. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2017 to work on his diploma thesis about the effect of antidepressant medication on learning and neuroplasticity assessed with MRI.

Konstantin Leidermann Konstantin Leidermann, BSc

Konstantin has a background in psychology and economics and is currently enrolled in the Cognitive Science master programm at the University of Vienna. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2017 to pursue his master thesis. His research interests involve the intersection between neuroscience and computational modeling.

Anna Fleischer Anna Fleischer

Anna Fleischer began her studies at the Medical University of Vienna in 2014. She joined the Neuroimaging Labs in September 2017 to work on her diploma thesis about ketamine binding of the serotonin transporter in humans in-vivo measured by PET.

Thomas Fischer Thomas Fischer

Thomas Fischer is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2014. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in September 2017 to work on his diploma thesis on the effects of theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation on regional gray matter volume.

Jan-Simon Frühwald Jan-Simon Frühwald

Jan-Simon Frühwald is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2014. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in July 2017 to work on his diploma thesis on the effects of hormone replacement therapy on visual stimulation with erotic images in transgender people using fMRI.

Maximilian RussoMaximilian Russo

Maximilian Russo started his studies at the Medical University of Vienna in 2013. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2016 to work on his diploma thesis: “Effects of Theta-Burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Serotonin-1A Receptor Binding” using PET.

Julia Katharina PetersJulia Katharina Peters

Julia Peters is a student at the medical University of Vienna since 2013. She joined the neuro imaging lab in October 2016 to work on her diploma thesis: correlation of MAO-A and SERT binding in the human brain.

Johannes Wölfle Johannes Wölfle

Johannes Wölfle started as a medical student at the Medical University of Vienna in 2013. He joined the Neuroimaging-Lab in autumn 2016 to work on his diploma thesis about fMRI learning experiments with face- and Chinese character recognition.

Sebastian Pauer Sebastian Pauer

Sebastian Pauer is a student at the Medical University of Vienna. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab in September 2016 to work on his diploma thesis about effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on MAO-A binding in patients with therapy refractory depression investigated with PET.

Katharina SandmairKatharina Sandmair

Katharina Sandmair is studying at the Medical University of Vienna since autumn 2013. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in December 2016 to work on her diploma thesis about the effects of cross-sex hormones on gender identity and sexual orientation in transgender people.

Former Coworkers and External Fellows

Gregory M. JamesGregory Miles James, BSc BSc MSc PhD

Gregory M. James graduated in Human Biology, Psychology and Cognitive Science (University of Vienna). Parts of his studies were carried out at the Vienna University of Technology, the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Germany, the ELTE Budapest and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in April 2013 to complete his master thesis on serotonin transporter quantification. Subsequently, he expanded this research by focusing on serotonergic classification across and beyond brain anatomy, within the doctoral program "Clinical Neuroscience". In April 2019 he completed successfully the doctoral programme "Clinical Neuroscience" with his thesis " Novel molecular imaging approaches to assess alterations of serotonergic neurotransmission in depression " (defensio April 29th).

Elisa Sittenberger Elisa Sittenberger, MSc

Elisa Sittenberger received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology with the special focus on Neuroscience from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany. She studied Bahavior, Cognition and Neurobiology at the University of Vienna and joined the Neuroimaging Lab to work on her master thesis “Genetic effects of the serotonin transporter on sex and transgender investigated with PET (Defensio: March 2019)”.

Christian WindischbergerChristian Windischberger, Assoc. Prof. PD DI Dr.tech.

Dr. Windischberger joined the Department of Psychiatry from 1.10.2005 to 30.11.2006 and was funded by the OeNB grant 11468 to R.L. He was involved in fMRI of anxiety disorders and pharmacological fMRI with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Patrycja SteinPatrycja Huf alias Stein, MD PhD

patrycja.huf[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Dr. Patrycja Huf (former Stein) joined the Neuroimaging Lab as a doctoral student in 2006. In May 2008, she graduated at the Medical University of Vienna with a thesis about sex differences in the serotonin-1A receptor distribution of the human brain. In May 2008, she was awarded with the Theodor-Körner-Preis. She started her medical training in psychiatry in Dec. 2008. She finished her PhD in September 2017 with the thesis “Sex steroid hormone effects on cerebral serotonin-1A receptor binding measured by positron emission tomography”.

Marin JukicMarin Jukic, PhD

marin.jukic[@]ki.se

Marin Jukic studied pharmacy at the University of Belgrade, Serbia (MPharm 2010) and earned his doctoral degree in Neuroscience at Ben Gurion University, Israel (PhD 2014). He has been employed as a postdoctoral scientist at Karolinska Institute, Sweden under supervision of Prof. Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg since November 2014. He joined the NeuroImaging Labs as a guest researcher supported by the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) - InEurope Short-Stay grant in February 2017. He is involved in a neuroimaging genetic project on the association between CYP2C19 genetic polymorphisms and serotonin neurotransmission in the human brain using Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

Christoph SpindeleggerChristoph Spindelegger, MD

In october 2004 Christoph Spindelegger joined the Neuroimaging Lab as medical student and wrote his doctoral thesis about influences of steroid hormones on serotonergic receptors. Dr. Spindelegger graduated (MD) in January 2006 and started his training in psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in march 2006. He was involved in several PET and fMRI studies of the group regarding the serotonergic system and alterations of this system in patients suffering from affective mood disorders. After 10 years, he left the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in 2014 and continued his career in the private sector.

Markus SavliMarkus Savli, Dr.techn. MSc

Dr. techn. DI Markus Savli joined the Functional, Molecular and Translational Neuroimaging Lab in May 2007. He studied Biomedical Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien and Technical Sciences at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), graduating in Oct 2012 with the doctoral thesis on multitracer PET imaging of the serotonergic system. He left the university in 2014.

Anne SaulinAnne Saulin

Anne Saulin studies psychology and physics at the University of Tübingen. After being a visiting graduate student at Yale University for two semester, she joined the Functional Neuroimaging Group for a summer research internship in June 2011. During her time in Vienna, she published the review "Serotonin and molecular neuroimaging in humans using PET". In 2014 she started her PhD training.

Irmgard Hofer-IrmlerIrmgard Hofer-Irmler, MD

Dr. Irmgard Hofer-Irmler studied medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. She received her doctoral degree in september 2005, joined the Functional Neuroimaging Group in April 2009 and started the training in psychiatry. She was enrolled in the doctoral programme "Clinical Neurosciences". In october 2010, she continued her clinical training outside the MUW.

Veronica WitteVeronica Witte, PhD

The neuroscientist Dr. Veronica Witte studied biology and psychology in Bielefeld, Germany. She received her PhD (Dr.rer.nat.) in experimental neuroanatomy and investigated epigenetic influences on the aging brain in Münster, Germany. She joined the Functional Neuroimaging Group in Vienna in Jan. 2008. Her research focus comprised the involvement of serotonin and the endocrine system on behavioural qualities and cognitive functions using PET and fMRI. Based on her work in Vienna, she published two papers in high-ranked journals. In 2009 Dr. Witte started her work with Prof. A. Floel at the Department of Neurology, Charité Berlin. In 2014, she founded the Research Group "Obesity and Aging" at the Department of Neurology (director: Arno Villringer) and is now team leader at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany.

Sanaz Attaripour IsfahaniSanaz Attaripour Isfahani, MD

Dr Sanaz Attaripour Isfahani studied medicine in Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Iran) with a doctoral thesis about the relationship between left-handedness and intelligence. In November 2011 she joined our neuroimaging lab and is enrolled in the doctoral programme "Clinical neurosciences". She continued her clinical training in Baltimore, USA, starting 2013.

Leonhard-Key MienLeonhard-Key Mien, PhD

The radiopharmacist Dr. Mien is specialized in [11C] and [18F] radiochemistry especially relevant for the quantification of neuroreceptors and transporters. He was working in the research group of his mentors Associate Prof. Markus Mitterhauser (Head of Radiopharmacy and QC PET), Mag. Dr. Wolfgang Wadsak (Head of Radiochemistry and Production Manager for PET-Radiopharmaceuticals) and Prof. DDr. Kurt Kletter (Professor for Experimental Nuclear Medicine) at the PET centre of the Department of Nuclear Medicine (Head: Prof.Dr. Robert Dudczak). In February 2010 he left the MUW.

Stefan TögelStefan Tögel, MSc PhD Assoc.Prof.

As a pharmacist, Stefan Tögel graduated in 2007 with a doctoral thesis on the pre-clinical evaluation of bone seeking radiotracer formulations, realized by a cooperation between the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, University Vienna and the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical University Vienna. He was involved in radiopharmaceutical studies related to the collaboration with the PET Centre Vienna, providing his expertise on biopharmaceutical models and gene expression analysis. Since February 2010 he is working at the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Vienna.

Simon HackhoferSimon Hackhofer, MD

Simon Hackhofer studied medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, graduating in march 2009. He joined the Functional Neuroimaging Group in May 2009 and was involved in several PET studies regarding the serotonergic system. He was responsible for the selection of volunteers and patient screening. In April 2010 he started his training in psychiatry in a rural region of switzerland following his girlfriend.

Florian GerstlFlorian Gerstl, MD

7 Tesla MR

Jad KanaanJad Kanaan, MD

Diploma Thesis:Treatment Effects of Escitalopram on the 5-HT1A Receptor Binding Potential – A PET study in patients suffering from anxiety disorders. August 2007 (N202). He startet his clinical training in cardiac surgery in Germany.

Philipp AngleitnerPhilipp Angleitner, MD

Philipp Angleitner finished his diploma thesis (MD) on brain activation in social phobia with great success (defensio october 18, 2010). He is currently working at the Department of Surgery.

Steven MüllerSteven Müller, BSc.

Steven Müller received his bachelor's degree in Computer Science (2008) from the University of Paderborn, Germany. After moving to Vienna he attended the Medical Informatics master's program at the Medical University in Vienna with a specialization in Bioinformatics and graduaded 2011. He finished his collaboration in Jan 2011.

Alexander HolikAlexander Holik, Mag.

Alexander Holik received his MSc in Physical Anthropology from the University of Vienna in 2003 and is interested mainly on Cognitive Neurosciences and Evolutionary Psychology. He is working on his PhD thesis in Clinical Neurosciences focused on pattern analysis in fMRI (supervisor: R. Lanzenberger).

Jingling ChangJingling Chang, MD Assoc. Prof

CHANG Jingling, MD, Assoc. Prof, graduated from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in 2007. She works as associated chief physician in the neurology department of Dongzhimen hospital affiliated to the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China. The main research fields are clinic and fMRI research of post-stroke. She performed provincial and national research projects in China. In Sept. 2011 she joined the Neuroimaging Group at the MUV for an EPU postdoctoral project. In Feb 2012 she went back to China.

Sylwia ZgudSylwia Zgud, MD

Sylwia Zgud was studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna and joined the Functional Neuroimaging Group in February 2010. She finished her diploma thesis "Serotonin-1A receptor distribution in pre- and postmenopausal women quantified by PET and [carbonly-11C] WAY-100635" in 2012 (defensio may 22, 2012).

Ulrike MoserUlrike Moser, MD

Dr. Ulrike Moser studied medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. Since her graduation in May 2005 she is member of the Functional Neuroimaging Group. In March 2006 she began her residency at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. She is responsible for the medical attendance of patients and healthy subjects in several PET and fMRT studies of the group. In May 2012 she was appointed as senior psychiatrist (Oberarzt) in the department of psychiatry (head: P. Fischer) of the well-known hospital SMZO in Vienna.

Elena AkimovaElena Akimova, MD

Elena Akimova came from Moscow to study medicine in Vienna, where she graduated (MD) in June 2007. In February 2008 she joined the Functional Neuroimaging Group and is involved in several projects on the serotonergic system and its role in anxiety and affective disorders. Elena has been a resident in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy since October 2008 and left the University in 2014 starting her career as psychiatrist in a municipal hospital and her private practice "Praxis Berggasse 1". .

Daliah HegerDaliah Heeger, MD

Daliah Heeger was studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in March 2012. She finished her diploma thesis "Hormone and gender dependent differences in empathy" in 2013 (defensio october 1, 2013).

Jan LosakJan Losak, MD

Jan Losak studied medicine at Charles University in Prague where he graduated in 2004. He obtained his clinical training in the Czech Republic and in Germany (Psychosomatic Medicine). He also studied physics at the Masaryk University in Brno (finished 2013). In Oct. 2010 he joined the Neuroimaging Lab as a Ph.D. student. He continued his clinical training in psychiatry from Oct 2012 to Nov 14th, 2013 in Vienna. He continued his clinical training in the Czech Republic. Currently, he is working on his PhD thesis "Using Machine Learning in Sexual Identity Disorder Diagnostics and Treatment Prediction" (supervisor: R. Lanzenberger).

Michaela FischerMichaela Fischer, MD

Michaela Fischer is studying human medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2008. She finished her thesis about "The effects of sex steroid hormones on empathy investigated with the Reading-the-Mind-in-the Eyes-Test" in 2014 (defensio february 20th, 2014).

Daniela NemethDaniela Nemeth, MD

Daniela Nemeth is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in September 2012. She finished her thesis about "Influence of gonadal hormones on thermal sensitivity under cross sex hormone treatment in transsexuals" in 2014 (defensio february 19th, 2014).

Stefanie PichlerStefanie Pichler, MD

Stefanie Pichler studied medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in October 2010. She finished her thesis about "Influence of genetic variants of the serotonin-1A receptor, the estrogen receptors and the progesterone receptor on 5-HT1A receptor binding in postmenopausal women" in 2012 (defensio july 17, 2013).

Natalia LipskaiaNatalia Lipskaia, MD

Natalia Lipskaia was studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2008. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in October 2011. She finished her diploma thesis "Short-term changes in gray matter volume after i.v. ketamine administration in healthy volunteers measured with 3 Tesla MRI" (defensio sept 3rd, 2014).

Marian CottenMarian Cotten, MD

Marian Cotten is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in March 2013 to work on her diploma thesis "*Uptake of the NET-specific PET radioligand (S,S)-[18F]FMeNER-D2 in the human head*" which was finished in Dec 2014.

Patrick Koeck Patrick Koeck, MD

Patrick Köck has been studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2008. After two years of medical training in Austria, Spain, Germany and Mexico he joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in July 2014. He finished his diploma thesis "Predicting the hallucinogenic action of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmine using multireceptor positron emission tomography – a mathematical model based on retrospective data analysis" in May 2015, and started his clinical training several months later"

Martin FinkMartin Fink, MD

Martin Fink studied medicine at the Medical University of Vienna where he recieved his doctoral degree (MD) in april 2008. His research focuses on cortical serotonergic receptor distribution with regard to physiological functions in healthy individuals and patients with affective disorders. He started his clinical career at the Department of Psychiatry in July 2008 and left the university in 2015 and started in the private practice "Praxis Berggasse 1".

Jonian SinajJonian Sinaj, MD

Jonian Sinaj from Switzerland was studying human medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in April 2012 and worked on his diploma thesis "Association between the morphology of the olfactory sulcus and sexual identity investigated in transsexuals" (defensio July 13, 2015). He started his Clinical Practical Year (KPJ) in Zurich in summer 2014 and his clinical training in radiology in october 2015 in Switzerland.

Doris LamplmairMag. Doris Lamplmair, BSc

After completing her degree in Psychology at the University of Vienna in October 2014, Doris Lamplmair joined the research group in November 2014. Within the framework of her dual curriculum in “Neuro-, Cognition- and Behavioral Biology” (University of Vienna), she finished her master thesis "The influence of sex steroid hormones on olfactory perception in humans" in september 2015 and left the Medical University Vienna.

Luca Cambioli, MDLuca Cambioli, MD

luca.cambioli[@]meduniwien.ac.at

Luca Cambioli graduated in 2014 from the University of Milano Bicocca in Italy, after defending a thesis on homelessness, psychosis and drug abuse written as a visiting scientist at the University of British Columbia (Canada). Having a strong interest in psychiatry, neuroimaging and the brain in general, he moved to Vienna to join Professor Lanzenberger at the Neuroimaging Lab, where he started working on his PhD in Clinical Neurosciences in march 2015. He started his clinical training in Switzerland in 2016.

Ricarda GmeinderRicarda Gmeinder, MD

Ricarda Gmeinder has been a student at the Medical University of Vienna since 2010. She joined the Neuroimaging lab in september 2013. She finished her diploma thesis about the effect of sex steroid hormones on risk related brain activation, investigated using 7 Tesla Ultrahigh-field fMRI in March 2016

Onur KeskinOnur Keskin

Onur Keskin is a student at the Medical University of Vienna. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in September 2013 and has been working on his diploma thesis about brain structure and sexual orientation using MRI.

Maximilian HotovyMaximilian Hotovy, MD

Maximilian Hotovy was a student at the Medical University of Vienna. He joined the Neuroimaging Labs in November 2013. He finished his diploma thesis "Predicting hallucinogenic drug action using multireceptor positron emission tomography" in march 2017.

Malwina Maria JaroszMalwina Maria Jarosz, MD

Malwina Maria Jarosz was a student at the Medical University of Vienna. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in November 2014 and finished her diploma thesis "A retrospective data analysis to predict the hallucinogenic action ofsubstituted amphetamines and 5-MeO-DMT using multireceptor PET" in spring 2017 (defensio July 7th , 2017).

Lisa Schwarz

Lisa Schwarz finished her diploma thesis "The effects of biological sex and gender identity on emotion recognition" (supervisor: Doz. G.Kranz, co-supervisor: Prof. R. Lanzenberger) in april 25th, 2017 (defensio).

Oskar MahlbergOskar Mahlberg

Oskar Mahlberg is studying at the Medical Universtity of Vienna since 2011. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in 2015. He finished his diploma thesis "The effects of sex hormones on neural correlates of empathy, investigated using 7 Tesla ultrahigh-field fMRI – A retrospective data analysis" (supervisor: Prof. G. Kranz) in spring 2018 (defensio April 11th, 2018).

Dariusz MinoDariusz Mino, MD

Dariusz Mino was a student at the Medical University of Vienna since 2009. He joined the Neuroimaging Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in March 2013. He finished his diploma thesis "Effects of cross-sex hormone therapy in transsexuals on quality of life examined with the WHOQOL-BREF test – A retrospective data analysis." in august 2017

Bernhard RohringerBernhard Rohringer

Bernhard Rohringer is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2012. He joined the NeuroImaging Lab in November 2015 to work on his diploma thesis about the effects of acute major depressive disorder on emotion processing of the brain using functional MRI.

Ruth HofmannRuth Hofmann

Ruth Hofmann has been a student of the Medical University of Vienna since 2012. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2015 to work on her diploma thesis about the effects of antidepressant pharmacotherapy in patients suffering from major depressive disorder using functional MRI.

Michaela SvagrMichaela Svagr

Michaela Svagr is studying at the Medical University of Vienna since 2012. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in August 2015 to work on her diploma thesis about trauma associated changes in brain structure using MRI.

Veronika RotterVeronika Rotter

Veronika Rotter is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. She joined the Neuroimaging Lap at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in October 2015 to work on her diploma thesis about the effects of major depressive disorder on working memory using functional MRI.

Claudia Winkler, MD

Claudia Winkler is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2011. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in november 2014 and finished her diploma thesis "Voxel-based morphometry in acute and remitted depressive patients based on 7T MR data – A retrospective data analysis." in 2018 (defensio 30.7.2018). Supervisors: R. Lanzenberger, C. Kraus.

Katharina HainKatharina Hain

Katharina Hain is studying medicine at the Medical University of Vienna since 2012. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in August 2015 to work on her diploma thesis "The influence of season on monoamine oxidase A distribution in seasonal affective disorder measured with positron emisson tomography."(Supervisor Dr. Marie Spies, Defensio September 25th, 2017)

Milan AugustovicMilan Augustovic

He finished his diploma thesis "Die Interaktion zwischen dem Norepinephrintransporter und Persönlichkeitsstrukturen bei erwachsenen Patienten mit ADHS, untersucht mittels Positronenemissionstomographie" in Nov. 2017.

Erika DoeckingerErika Doeckinger

Erika Döckinger started her studies at the Medical University of Vienna in 2013. She joined the Neuroimaging Lab in October 2016 to work on her diploma thesis. She finished her diploma thesis "Brain glucose metabolism during transcranial direct current stimulation" in Feb. 2018.

Karolin EinenkelKarolin Einenkel, BSc MSc

Karolin Einenkel received her Bachelor´s degree in Biology with the special focus on Neuroscience from the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany. She studied Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition at the University of Vienna and joined the Neuroimaging Labs in March 2017 to work on her thesis. She finished her master thesis "Meta-analysis of structural brain changes following electroconvulsive therapy in major depression" (Supervisor: Prof. P. Baldinger) in 2018 (defensio: June 22nd, 2018).

Johannes Maria JungwirthJohannes Maria Jungwirth, MD

Johannes joined the Neuroimaging Labs from September 2016 to May 2017 to start a PhD in Clinical Neurosciences, after having graduated from medical school.

Anselm Benedikt Gruber, MSc (2017/09-2018/02)

Vsevolods Girsovics, 2017

Ana Jelicic, 2017

Daiana Crisan, 2017

Jennifer Nader, 2016

Carola Hanreich, 2016

Anam Fazlani, 2016

Jakov Plazonic (2013/10 - 2015/08)

PD Ronald Sladky, MSc, PhD (2012/01 - 2013/02)

Trawat Attarbashi, MD

Karoline-Maria Sindelar

Iris Kaiser, Mag

Leila Wabnegger, PhD (Dr.rer.nat.)

Lucia Navarro de Lara, DI (2011/09 - 2011/11), 2017 MARTINOS Center / Boston / Harvard (https://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/)

Andrea Victoria King, Dr.sc.hum. (2012/11 - 2013/06)

group

Hard work at the lab, Honi soit qui mal y pense.

In the scope of the ECNP Research Internship ‘Meet your translational match’ 2018 Bíborka Bruzsik, MSc and Gregor Gryglewski, MD spent 2 weeks in each other's institute, the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the Medical University of Vienna and the Institute for Experimental Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.

Prof. Eric Kandel, Nobel prize-winner 2000, after the honorary doctorate ceremony at the Medical University in April 2018 (left: Prof. Kasper, middle: Prof. Lanzenberger).

Andreas Hahn enjoys the OHBM Meeting in Beijing, June 2012.
Andreas Hahn enjoys the OHBM Meeting in Beijing, June 2012.


Georg in the jungle
Unknown primate species "Homo Kranzensis" sighted in Nicaraguan Jungle, Feb 2013.


Georg Kranz celebrates his Habilitation, april 2016
Georg Kranz celebrates his Habilitation, April 2016


Pia Baldinger at the Rudolf-Hoefer-Awards
Pia Baldinger at the Rudolf-Hoefer-Awards, April 2016


Pia Baldinger and Christoph Kraus at the Beckman Center
Pia Baldinger and Christoph Kraus visited the Beckman Center of the National Academy of Sciences in Irvine, Jan. 2012.


C. Kraus, Backside Turn, Ochsenboden, Winterseminar Biologische Psychiatrie
C. Kraus, Backside Turn, Ochsenboden, Winterseminar Biologische Psychiatrie, Arlberg 2014


Rupert Lanzenberger, Pia Baldinger and Christoph Kraus at World Congress of Biological Psychiatry 2013


CINP 2014
M. Spies, C. Kraus, P. Baldinger, T. Vanicek, G. Kranz at CINP 2014, Vancouver, Canada


CINP 2014
G. Kranz, P. Baldinger, T. Vanicek at CINP 2014, Vancouver, Canada







Markus Savli and his daughter