Intern
Research Training Group 2660: Approach-Avoidance

Executive Board

Prof. Dr. Matthias Gamer

RTG Speaker, PI Project C1
Executive Board Member (Speaker for the PIs)
Experimental Clinical Psychology
Department of Psychology
University of Würzburg
Marcusstr. 9-11
97070 Würzburg
Deutschland
Gebäude: Marcusstraße 9-11
Raum: 206
Telefon: +49 931 31-89722
Fax: +49 931 31-82733
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9676-9038

Prof. Dr. Grit Hein

RTG Steering Committee, PI Project C2
Executive Board Member
Translational Social Neuroscience
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy
University Hospital Würzburg
Margarete-Höppel-Platz 1
97080 Würzburg
Deutschland
Gebäude: UKW
Telefon: +49 931 201-77411
Fax: +49 931 201-77020

Prof. Dr. Andrea Reiter

PI Project B2
Executive Board Member
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy
University Hospital Würzburg
Margarete-Höppel-Platz 1
97080 Würzburg
Deutschland
Gebäude: UKW
Telefon: +49 931 201-78000
Fax: +49 931 201-78040

Prof. Dr. Philip Tovote

RTG Steering Committee, PI Project A1
Executive Board Member
Systems Neurobiology
Institute of Clinical Neurobiology
University Hospital Würzburg
Versbacherstr. 5
97078 Würzburg
Deutschland
Gebäude: UKW
Telefon: +49 931 201-44052

Menghuan Chen

PhD Project B1
Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy
Department of Psychology
University of Würzburg
Marcusstr. 9-11
97070 Würzburg
Deutschland
Telefon: +49 931 31-88113

Menghuan Chen is a Doctoral Researcher in the project B1 under supervision of Prof. Pauli and Prof. Pittig.

During her PhD, she will work on approach-avoidance conflicts related to impulsive versus reflective processes using biopsychological methods and neuroimaging techniques (i.e., fMRI).

Before starting her PhD, she studied Cognitive Neuroscience in Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and conducted research focusing on addiction disorders with methods of virtual reality, eye-tracking, EEG and machine learning.

 

Francesco Tortora

PhD
Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy
Department of Psychology
University of Würzburg
Marcusstr. 9-11
97070 Würzburg
Germany

Francesco Tortora is a doctoral student supervised by Prof. Dr. Matthias Gamer and Dr. Marta Andreatta. 

Before joining the RTG, he completed his studies in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation at the University of Bologna, where he explored aversive learning and memory processes, as well as their modulation through non-invasive brain stimulation techniques.

In his doctoral research, Francesco investigates how contextual information influences physiological processes and avoidance behavior. To this aim, he integrates virtual reality with advanced physiological and behavioral measures.

Zora Schickardt

PhD (Prof. Dr. med. Kittel-Schneider)
Cell Culture and Biomarkers Research Group
Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine
University Hospital Würzburg
Margarete-Höppel-Platz 1
97080 Würzburg
Germany
Telefon: +49 931 201-77240

Zora Schickardt is a doctoral researcher in the Cell Culture and Biomarkers Research Group at the Center of Mental Health and joins the RTG2660 as an associated PhD student. In her PhD project, she investigates mitochondrial function in cell models of PARK2 copy number variant carriers with adult Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In a previous study, the evaluation of the cellular phenotype of human dermal fibroblast and dopaminergic neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells revealed impaired energy metabolism and hints for mitochondrial dysfunction in ADHD/PARK2 CNVs carriers compared to wildtype controls. Based on this, she will conduct further analyses of mitochondrial alterations in ADHD-related cell types such as cortical neurons and blood-brain barrier endothelia to validate mitochondrial dysfunction as a potential target for novel therapies and to investigate a possible role of BBB dysfunction in ADHD. Besides her research, she enjoys being in nature and relaxing on the banks of the Main.