I have a medical background with thorough experience in multidisciplinary research. In parallel to medical school I took part in two full-time research master programs, one in cell biology and one in clinical epidemiology. For three years I performed experimental research at the department of Cell Biology. Here I determined interaction networks of transcription factors for mental disorders in neural stem cells. On the other hand, I performed observational research at the department of Epidemiology focusing on population genetics and neuroimaging of age-related neurodegenerative diseases. My research was focused on the etiology of such diseases. Here I developed novel statistical methods and neuroimaging protocols, performed image processing, and genome/exome/epigenetic/transcriptome-wide association studies. Furthermore, this research had a very collaborative and international character.
I am the PI of the Precision Epidemiology group, where we characterize large populations in depth using cutting edge imaging and omics technologies. The diverse background of the group members – spanning fundamental research, epidemiology, bioinformatics, and clinical medicine – enables this envisioned multidisciplinary research line. So far I have over 100 publications, with over 80% in the top 25% journals of their respective fields. I have initiated and led multiple global consortia, including the JPND-funded HD-READY and Full-HD consortia, the UNIVRSE consortium, and more recently the UNITED consortium, which is the largest neuroimaging consortium worldwide focusing on neurodegeneration.
