Listed are current staff members. Refer HERE for alumni and former lab members as well as past students.
[please note: site get's updated regularly]
Investigators
Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Julian Koenig
Julian is Professor of Biological Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Cologne and PI of the lab.
Deputy PI (Animal Studies)
Dr. Caroline Zeitouny
Caroline is a biologist, developing an animal model of vagus nerve stimulation and conducting several research projects on vagal function in rodent models. ResearchGate
Deputy PI (Human Studies)
Dr. Maximilian Schmaußer
Max is a psychologist and researcher at the lab. He is interested in how peripheral physiological signals and their perception influence cognitive and affective processes in both health and disease. ResearchGate | Google Scholar
Staff
Secretary
Marina Stüger
Marina is research officer at the lab and keeps us going,
PhD Student
Dr. phil. cand. Luise Baumeister-Lingens
Luise is a psychologist and PhD student at the lab. She conducts studies on heart rate variability in children and adolescents with depression. ResearchGate
PhD Student
Dr. phil. cand. Roxana Rothe
Roxana is a child and adolescent psychotherapist in training and PhD student at the lab. She conducts studies on symptom networks in depression. ResearchGate
Guest Scientist
Ceylin Özgür Erzen
July to December 2026
Research Assistants
Daryna Apter
Senior Student Research Assistant
Julie Quast
Senior Student Research Assistant
Johanna Taschinski
Student Research Assistant
Jule Schmidt
Student Research Assistant
Malin Gömann
Student Intern July to September 2026
Current MD Students
If you are interested to write your MD thesis (Dr. med. or Dr. med. dent.) with us, please get into contact.
Marc Ferger
Endocannabinoid system in adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Carina Pütz
Normative Thymus Development in Childhood and Adolescence (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Franziska Klein
Umbrella-Review on Treatment. Non-Response in Youth Depression (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Jessica Rath
Cholinergic Metabolism in Adolescent Depression (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Jakob Siegel
Normative Development of Pineal Gland Volume in Adolescent Development (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Lea Freiin Von Wintzingerode
Bladder Wall Thickness and Clinical Trajectories in Patients with Enuresis/Enkopresis (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Hanna Schwinde
Interoception in Adolescent Borderline Personality Disorder (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Annika Kirch
Lymphocyte Composition in Adolescent Depression (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Jessica Mueser
In-vivo microneurography of the human vagus nerve (Supervisor: Julian Koenig) - in tandem with Sonja Schulte
Sonja Schulte
In-vivo microneurography of the human vagus nerve (Supervisor: Julian Koenig) - in tandem with Jessica Mueser
Mira Boos
Intra-Operative Vagal Regulation in Pediatric Surgery (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Fe Eisemann
Dose-Response Effects of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation in the Treatment of Depression. A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Ben Banaschewski
Choline metabolism, autonomic nervous system activity and clinical presentation in depressed female adolescents (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Lion Neumann
Investigation of fetal heart rate variability by gestational age (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Nele Spitznagel
Thymic involution under the influence of fluctuating sex hormones in female jawed vertebrates (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Associated PhD Students
If you are interested to write your PhD-Thesis with us, please get into contact.
Lea Krumpholtz
PhD in Psychology [University of Dresden]
Early Interactional Experiences as a Risk Factor of Child Development and the Transmission of Parental Psychopathology: The Potential of Integrating Biobehavioral Measures (Co-Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Leon D. Lotter
Clinician Scientist PhD-program, Max Planck School of Cognition [Jülich Research Centre]
Biological mechanisms underlying human typical and atypical cortex development (Co-Supervisor: Julian Koenig) website
Current Master Students
If you are interested to write your Master-Thesis with us, please get into contact.
Şevval Tuana Sarikaya
Within-Pair Differences in Perceived Stress and Processing Speed in Monozygotic Twins (Supervisor: Julian Koenig)
Current Bachelor Students
If you are interested to write your Bachelor-Thesis with us, please get into contact.
