Research Interests

• Influence of early life stress and trauma in the epigenetic regulation and modulation of the expression of stress-related genes.
• Transgenerational effects of psychological stress and trauma through epigenetic mechanisms.
• Investigation of the biological aging correlates in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Projects

• My Childhood - your Childhood
  The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
  It investigates the biological effects of mother´s experiences during their own childhood on the mother-child relationship.

Teaching

• SS2017: Molecular psychology (BSc Seminar)
• SS2017: Biomolecular systems of psychiatric disorders (MSc Seminar)
• SS 2016: Biomolekulare Systeme psychiatrischer Störungen (MSc Seminar)
• WS 2015/2016: Biomolekulare Systeme in ihrem Anwendungsbezug für Klinische  Störungen (MSc Seminar)
• SS 2015: Biologische Grundlagen psychischer Störungen (MSc Seminar)

Awards

09/2016 Travel Award, International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE) 

Publications

Ramo-Fernandez, L., Boeck, C., Koenig, A., Schury, K., Binder, E.B., Gündel, H., Fegert, J.M., Karabatsiakis, A., Kolassa, I.-T. (in press). The effects of childhood maltreatment on epigenetic regulation of stress-response associated genes: an intergenerational approach. Scientific Reports.

Ramo-Fernandez, L., Schneider, A., Wilker, S., & Kolassa, I-T. (2015). Epigenetic Alterations Associated with War Trauma and Childhood Maltreatment. Behavioral Science and the Law, 33, 701-721.

Conference contributions

Ramo-Fernández, L., Geiger, M., Boeck, C., Koenig, A., Katharina Schury, K., Alexander Karabatsiakis, A., Stephan Kolassa, S., Iris-Tatjana Kolassa, I-T. (2016). Investigating the link between child maltreatment and inflammation: the effects of steroid hormones on cytokine secretion of peripheral blood mononuclear cells ex vivo. 46th International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE) Conference, Miami, Florida, USA

Karabatsiakis, A., Ramo-Fernández, L., Krause, S., Koenig, A., Boeck, C., Waller, C., Gündel, H., Kolassa, I-T. (2016). DNA methylation profiling of stress-related genes in mothers with childhood maltreatment experiences and their infants. 5th German Health Research Meetingon Behavioural Disorders Related toViolence, Neglect, Maltreatment, and Abuse in Childhood and Adolescence, Mannheim, Germany