I am postdoctoral researcher at the Leiden University in the Department of Clinical Psychology in the Netherlands. I am also affiliated to the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) and to the BioClock Consortium. My current research is focused on the evaluation of the neural mechanisms of light therapy in depression using advanced structural and functional neuroimaging techniques. 
Within a multicenter randomized clinical trial, we assess the effects and the mechanisms of this chronotherapeutic treatment.  We use a multiparametric approach by assessing both psycho-social factors (actigraphy and ecological momentary assessments) as well as biological markers (brain imaging and melatonin assessment in saliva).
I am also a part-time lecturer and teach both seminars as well as supervise master thesis students.

Previously I was a PostDoc at the University of Zurich, Switzerland in the research group of the Clinic for Neuroradiology at the University Hospital Zürich. With a double-affiliation to the University Department of Geriatric Medicine FELIX PLATTER, Basel. We evaluated to which extent the brain of professional elderly musicians is protected against neurodegeneration and try to detect MRI based predictors to support geriatricians in the diagnosis process of mild cognitive impairment. 
I wrote my doctoral thesis at the TUM-NIC Neuroimaging Center in Munich, Germany under the umbrella of the Graduate school of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. I focused on the cortical function and structure of THE OBSESSED BRAIN by evaluating patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
I obtained my diploma degree (M.Sc.) in psychology at the Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. In my thesis I investigated the protective factors which increase life quality in caregivers of patients with multiple sclerosis.

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