News

May 11, 2023
Dr. Alexander Behnke was awarded a G.A.-Lienert Foundation Research Fellowship for a 3-month visit at the Mitochondrial Psychobiology Laboratory of Prof. Martin Picard at Columbia University, New York City, in spring 2024.

November 30, 2022
Dr. Alexander Behnke was awarded the Clemens-Gabriel-Foundation doctoral dissertation award for his outstanding scientific achievements in investigating occupational traumatization in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). EMS personnel are recurrently exposed to potentially traumatic events in the course of their duty, resulting in an increased risk for negative mental health problems. Dr. Behnke characterized the quality and quantity of the traumatic stress exposure on duty and investigated the relevance of risk and resilience factors for the mental health and well-being of professionals in the EMS.

November 30, 2022
Dr. Verena Nold was awarded the Clemens-Gabriel-Foundation doctoral dissertation award for her outstanding scientific achievements in investigating the interface between clinical psychology and molecular medicine covering biochemical, cell physiological, neuroscientific, and molecular biological processes. Her work examines the lifetime consequences of chronic stress on the psycho-immune-neuro-energy (PINE) network, with particular emphasis on risk and resilience factors in the development and progression of mental illness.

November 30, 2022
Hannah Keppler and Lynn Matits were distinguished with the Clemens Gabriel Foundation Master's Thesis Award from their outstanding graduate theses on the biological basis of mental disorders. Hannah Keppler addressed how aversive environmental interactions during childhood manifest biologically in adulthood. In her work, she examined glycolytic gene expression and mitochondrial functioning in immune cells of a traumatized cohort formed, which provided promising new insights in the immune metabolic mechanisms connecting traumatic stress to its negative consequences for health. Lynn Matits examined the immunomodulatory and psychological effects of relaxation hypnosis in the context of chronic stress. Hypnosis as an easy-to-use therapeutic intervention was shown to alleviate the negative effects of chronic stress on mood.

October 27, 2022
Dr. Matthias Mack scores 2nd place in the pitch competition of the 2nd Ulm University Science Day for young scientists and was awarded 30,000€ to investigate the relevance of the gut microbiome in the development and therapy of major depressive disorder.

10.12.2021
At the Institute of Psychology and Eduction, Ulm University, the new Clemens Gabriel endowment has been established. The mission of the foundation is to fund research projects in prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Clemens-Gabriel endowment fund established

17.04.2021
Anja Gumpp receives the dissertation award of the Graduate School Molecular Medicine 2020 for her Ph.D. thesis on the topic "Biological consequences of childhood maltreatment in postpartum women and their newborns".

October 5th2020
Scientific journal PNAS published a new study on the influence of childhood maltreatment on cellular energy metabolism.
For further information on the article, please click on the link here.

February 16th 2020
Ms. Melissa Hitzler, PhD Student in the Department of Clinical and Biological Psychology received for her conference contributions the annual award of the German speaking Society of Psychotraumatology (DeGPT).

January 29th 2020
Ms. Melissa Hitzler, PhD Student in the Department of Clinical and Biological Psychology receives the Travel Award of the German speaking Society of Psychotraumatology (DeGPT).

December 10th 2019
ERC Consolidator grant on the topic "Major depression as a metabolic disorder: the role of oxygen homeostasis and mitochondrial bioenergetics in depression etiology and therapy" awarded to professor Iris-Tatjana Kolassa. >Link to press release<

November 12th 2019
Mr. Max Rechtsteiner received an award for his Master thesis titled- "Xenobiotic metabolic stress in women with varied degrees of aversive childhood experiences".

July 31st 2019
Dr. Alexandra König receives a dissertation award of the UUG for her dissertation on "Tracing intergenerational consequences of early life
stress: psychobiological correlates of childhood maltreatment in mothers and their newborns".

October 10th 2018
Dr. Christina Böck was awarded the Doctoral Student Award of the International Graduate School in Molecular Medicine which is awarded to outstanding students every year on the graduation day.

May 30th 2017
Dr. Sarah Wilker receives one of this year's dissertation awards of the University Society of the University of Ulm (UUG) for her excellent dissertation on "Gene x environment interactions in the etiology and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder".

May 05th 2017
New study on the influence of the immune-regulatory gene TROVE2 on memory functions published in Nature Human Behaviour. Read more on bionity.com.

January 23rd 2017
Dr. rer. nat. Sarah Wilker, Postdoc of the Kolassa work group, receives a research bonus of Ulm University and the Ulm University Society for her research on the biological underpinnings and therapeutic treatment of trauma-related disorders. Each year, up to three research bonuses are awarded to skilled young researchers. The work group shares her excitement and cordially congratulates Sarah on this achievement!

April 23rd 2015
Christina Böck, PhD student of the Kolassa work group, receives the GEBIN Prize 2015 awarded by the foundation for “Immunität und Seele” for outstanding research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology. The entire work group shares her excitement and cordially congratulates Christina on this achievement!

March 25th, 2015
The work group "Lifelong Neuroplasticity" and here in particular the section "silver gaming" is awarded the research award "Silver Gaming 2015" for innovative research projects in the field of healthcare research or related scientific disciplines which use serious games for reaching the project aim. The prize will be awarded at the healthcare fair in Nürnberg.

February 18th, 2015
Dr. rer. nat. Sarah Wilker, Postdoc of the Kolassa work group, receives the young academics award 2015 of the German-Speaking Society for Psychotraumatology (Deutschsprachige Gesellschaft für Psychotraumatologie, DeGPT) for her dissertation entitled "Gene - Environment Interactions in the Etiology and Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder". The award ceremony takes place at the DeGPT congress in Innsbruck, Austria, in February 2015. The entire work group shares her excitement and cordially congratulates Sarah on this achievement!

February 28th, 2014
Dr. rer. nat. Julia Morath, former doctoral student of the Kolassa work group, receives the dissertation award of the German Council for Psychosomatic Medicine (Deutsches Kollegium für Psychosomatische Medizin) 2014 for her Ph.D. thesis on "Immunological and Molecular Alterations in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and the Reversibility through Psychotherapy". The prize will be awarded in March on the the German Psychosomatics Congress in Berlin. The entire work group is excited and cordially congratulates Julia on this great achievement!

November 19th, 2013
Dr. rer. nat. Franka Thurm, former doctoral student of the Kolassa work group, is awarded the dissertation award of the Schmieder Foundation for Rehabilitation Science and Health Research" for her Ph.D. thesis on "Aging and Dementia: Clinical Relevance of Early Markers and Late Interventions". The entire work shares her excitement and sends its warmest congratulates on this achievement! On the webseit of DIES Academicus you can find an introctuction video to her topic. More can be read on suedkurier.de.

May 22rd, 2013
Approval of a research project by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) on " Stress resilience in the transgenerational transmission of childhood maltreatment". Out of the total sum of 2.4 Million Euros, 1.7 Million Euros will go to the project partners Prof. Jörg Fegert (PI), Prof. Harald Gündel and Prof. Iris-Tatjana Kolassa at the University of Ulm, to finance a large longitudinal study on mothers and their infants from birth to the first year of life. The investigation will address the effect of positive and negative childhood experiences of the mothers on their own transition to parenthood and their relationship to their own child. Further partners of the consortium are from the University of Magdeburg, Prof. Dr. Anna Katharina Braun, Zoology and Developmental Neurobiology, and Dr. Heinz Kindler, from the German Youth Institute.

July 23rd, 2012
Iris-Tatjana Kolassa receives the Science Award of the City of Ulm 2012. Read more on SWP.com.

June 18th, 2012
Iris-Tatjana Kolassa is awarded Fellow status of the Association for Psychological Science for sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology

May 15th, 2012
PNAS Publication on the Downside of Good Memory. The article can be read in the ScienceNews or in nature-international weekly journal of science.

April 4th, 2012
Iris-Tatjana Kolassa receives the Janet Taylor Spence Award 2012 for Transformative Early Carreer Contributions to Psychological Science.

December 5th, 2011
Winfried Schlee receives one of the research boni of the University of Ulm