Team

Administration

Silke Friedrich
(Coordinator and study nurse at OmegaLab)

Collaboration in the following projects:

INFLAME study: ‘Influence of a diet rich in fiber and polyphenols on inflammatory processes in the brain in obesity.´
MIFOOD study: ‘Effects of microbiome-changing interventions on food decision-making and the gut-brain axis in obesity’
PostCovid study: ‘Research into the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection’ (in cooperation with the Day Clinic for Cognitive Neurology at the University of Leipzig)
MetaSurg study: ‘Bariatric surgery and the brain’ (in cooperation with Leipzig University Hospital)

Collaboration within the framework of the cooperation with the LIFE Management Cluster:

Long Covid (in cooperation with the LIFE Adult)
LIFE Koop 2024: Microclots as a predictive parameter for vascular and neurodegenerative changes in the brain in old age (Cooperation project with Leipzig University, the Faculty of Medicine, the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology)
KIMed (research network for artificial intelligence in medicine between Leipzig University, Dresden University of Technology, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences and other partners) https://www.uniklinikum-leipzig.de/einrichtungen/life/life-management-cluster/projekt%C3%BCbersicht

Research

Postdoctoral researchers

Frauke Beyer (PhD)
(Postdoctoral researcher in cooperation with the University of Bordeaux)

Since my PhD, I have been interested in lifestyle and cardiovascular factors that influence brain ageing and cognitive decline and the mechanisms involved. I am particularly interested in cerebral small vessel disease, as it is thought to underlie both stroke and dementia.
My current project in collaboration with the SHIVA consortium at the University of Bordeaux investigates spatial patterns of imaging markers of cSVD (white matter hyperintensities) and their link to risk factors and cognitive function in the elderly.
In my work, I make use of large datasets such as the LIFE-Adult study, which include magnetic resonance imaging, cognitive questionnaires and diverse measures of lifestyle. I also contribute to intervention studies that investigate the influence of diet (Mediterranean diet, polyphenols) or combined interventions (AgeWell.de) on cognition and brain measures

Daria Jensen (PhD)
(Postdoctoral Researcher)

Postdoc in OMEGA lab at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS, Neurology) in collaboration with the University of Leipzig Medical Hospital.
My research focuses on the detection of brain connectivity pathways across the lifespan, which are influenced by stress, diet and the gut microbiome. I am particularly interested in subcortical brain connectivity changes across age, which might be used to explain important pathways related to healthy ageing, but also dementia and obesity.
I am involved in analysing data of the Gut-Brain-Study, MiFood study, and the LIFE cohort and are involved within the InFlame study and the ERANET MiHealhtyDiet network. I am further involved in several projects within the DEMON network.
Previously, I have conducted a my doctorate (DPhil) in Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, supervised by Professor Klaus Ebmeier, Sana Suri, and Miriam Klein-Flügge, where I also worked within a short postdoctoral position in Cognitive Neuroscience.
Prior to my DPhil, I worked as a Research Assistant (2016-18) in the research group of Matthew Rushworth, undertook several internships e.g. at Lund University, and completed my MSc thesis at the MPI for Human Development in Berlin with Prof. Simone Kühn. I completed a MSc degree in Cognitive Science at Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen (2016), and a BSc in Biology at Freie Universität Berlin (2013).

Lieneke Janssen
(Postdoctoral Researcher)

I am a cognitive neuroscientist with an endless fascination for human behaviour in health and disease. My research is interdisciplinary by nature and centers around the making and breaking of people's habits, from innocent ones to those that have taken a strong hold of us (e.g. in obesity and gambling addiction).
More specifically, I investigate the roles of the frontostriatal circuitry in relevant neurocognitive processes, such as reinforcement learning, decision-making and working memory. The neurotransmitter dopamine particularly motivates me.
In the OMEGA lab, I am involved in two projects: 1) Andrea’s doctoral work on goal-directed and habitual control in adolescents with obesity, and 2) a project in collaboration with the Leipzig University Hospital on monogenic obesity, which gives a unique insight into the brain’s melanocortin system.

Doctoral researchers

Meghedi Vartanian
(M.Sc. Clinical Psychology)

I hold a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tehran and am currently a PhD researcher at the IMPRS NeuroCom. My research takes place in the OMEGA lab at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in collaboration with the Day Clinic for Cognitive Neurology at the University of Leipzig Medical Center.
In my PhD project, MIFOOD, I focus on the effects of neurocognitive behavioral intervention and dietary fiber interventions on food decision-making and the gut-brain axis in obesity. My aim is to develop novel preventive and therapeutic strategies to combat unhealthy weight gain.

Yee Teng Lee (Lilian)
(M.Sc. Basic Medical Sciences)

I am a PhD student in OMEGA Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in collaboration with the Day Clinic for Cognitive Neurology at the University of Leipzig Medical Center.
I am interested in the relationship between obesity and brain aging. My research focuses on the role of the bidirectional gut-brain axis and its underlying microbial mechanism that regulates obesity and affects brain structures and functions. To study this, I pool and harmonize data from GutBrain and MIFOOD studies to understand better the association.
During my PhD, I mainly involve in the data acquisition and analysis of the MIFOOD study.
I also conducted a systematic review on how lifestyle and microbiota-targeted interventions targeting obesity affects gut microbiome.
I am also further involved in data acquisiton and analysis of several other projects.

Unnur Andrea Ásgeirsdóttir

I am a doctoral researcher at the IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging. I am interested in understanding the neurocognitive processes underlying goal-directed and habitual behaviour. Specifically, I am drawn to investigating how these processes interact and how their development is impacted in adolescent obesity. To study this, I employ a range of methods, including behaviour, fMRI, and computational modeling.

Srividya Athur Sundaram
(M.Sc. Neuroscience and M.Sc. Clinical Psychology - Double Masters)

Prior to my PhD , I pursued a double masters degree in Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology in Italy.
I am a doctoral researcher in the OMEGA Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS), Leipzig, in collaboration with Leipzig University Medical Center, and a member of the IMPRS CoNI doctoral school.
My PhD focuses on investigating sex differences in gut–microbiome–brain mechanisms underlying food-related decision-making in individuals with overweight and obesity.
I am currently involved in the MiFood study, which explores the effects of a microbiome-changing prebiotic intervention (inulin) on food decision-making in obesity. I am also part of the Inflame study part of MIHEALTHY DIET funded by the ERA4HEALTH Nutribrain Consortium , which examines how a plant-based diet influences inflammatory processes in the brain.
In addition, I am interested in Microbiome Data anlayses methods and in the Gut–Brain study, I preprocess and validate 16S rRNA gut microbiome data using two independent analysis pipelines on the open-source Galaxy server (Galaxy.eu).

Medical students (MD)

Lina Eisenberg

My research interest is the role of cholinergic signaling in systemic inflammation and its implications on the brain.
Therefore I am studying how the cholinergic system and its molecular regulators impact these conditions. I want to find out whether plasma markers of the cholinergic tone such as AChE and BChE could predict structural brain differences.
To study this, my project combines clinical, genetic and brain-imaging data of the population-based LIFE study cohort.
I am working in a collaboration project together with the Soreq Lab of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Konrad Jakob Endres

Medical student at Leipzig University working on my medical doctoral thesis at OMEGA Lab.
Interested in the interaction between psychiatric disorders like depression and obesity.
Furthermore I am investigating the role of the hormone ghrelin in the development of depression.

Lukas Kleine

Medical student at University of Leipzig
Working as a student assistant and on my medical doctoral thesis at OMEGA Lab
Currently I am investigating the effects of multi-component lifestyle interventions on brain structure and functions for elderly people at-risk of cognitive impairment and dementia

Helena Hilbig

I study Medicine at Leipzig University.
At OMEGA Lab I am working on my medical doctoral thesis.
I am Interested in the interaction between lifestyle factors and brain health.
My thesis focuses on the impact of diets and diet components on a multimodal healthy aging score including e.g. hippocampal volume.

Marie-Sophie Polifka

I’m a medical student from the University of Leipzig and had found my way to the lab through my doctoral thesis project. I’m mostly interested in how nutrition has an influence on our organism in total. For this research Dr. Witte’s OMEGA Lab group seemed highly suitable. In my research I’m focussing on how hunger and brain activation are related in particular.

Emmy Töws

Masters students

Charlotte Koch

I’m a Biology/Neuroscience Master Student at Leipzig University, conducting my Master Thesis in the OMEGA Lab. My project is on sex differences in risk factors for structural brain aging processes & cognitive decline, such as visceral fat accumulation and genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s disease.
My broader research interest lies in sex-specific and female brain-body-interactions with focus on signalling & inflammatory mechanisms and their impact on neuroinflammation & oxidative stress in the brain and on the risk for neurodegeneration.

Alireza Asgari

I am currently conducting the research project "Longitudinal Evaluation of Brain Age Model" at the OMEGA Lab, part of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS). I am a master's student in Neurocognitive Psychology at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg and hold a bachelor's degree in Psychology.
My research interests lie in applying and evaluating novel methods to study the human brain. I work with EEG, MEG, and (f)MRI data, and employ statistical approaches such as Multilevel Modelling and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).

Interns and student assistants

Lea Naujok