Elena Doering, Dr. nat. med.

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the MMNI group with a background in cognitive science and artificial intelligence. My main research interests rely in the AI-driven generation of biomarkers from existing patient data to not only better understand neurodegenerative diseases, but also to enrich the diagnostic and prognostic process thereof. I am also involved in the automation and standardization of data operations in our lab.

Professional links: LinkedIn, ResearchGate, GitHub

Academic education:

PeriodInstitutionDegree / Topic  
2019-2024University Hospital Cologne and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)PhD / Artificial Intelligence and Positron Emission Tomography for the Timely Diagnosis and Prognosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
2017-2018Osnabrück UniversityMSc / Vibrotactile Cueing to Prevent Freezing of Gait in Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Study
2016California State University – Monterey BaySemester abroad
2014-2017Osnabrück UniversityBSc / Artificial Autonomy: An Argument Against the Presence of Autonomy in Artificial Intelligence

Professional experience:

PeriodInstitutionRole / Focus
Since 2024Research Center JülichPostdoctoral researcher
2019-2024University Hospital Cologne and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)PhD candidate
2017-2019New York University – Abi DhabiResearch assistant

Robert Lubomierski, M.Sc.

I am a PhD student in the MMNI group and joined the lab in April 2025. I am interested in the neurobiological underpinning of PD and their involvement in motivation. I work with neuroimaging methods ranging from functional MRI to QSM data. I program behavioural tasks to test the relationship between motoric effort and motivation during the early phase of PD.

Professional links: LinkedIn, GitHub

Academic education:

PeriodInstitutionDegree / Topic  
04.2025 – PresentUniv. Hospital ColognePh.D. in Neuroimaging
2021 – 2024Humboldt- Univ. BerlinM.Sc. Psychology
2022Stockholm UniversitySemester abroad
2017 – 2021Univ. of CologneB.Sc. Psychology

Professional experience:

PeriodInstitutionRole / Focus
2024MPI MetabolismInternship – Neuroimaging of reward/effort
2021Univ. Hospital CologneInternship – Neuropsychology
2018Univ. CologneResearch assistant

Ask me about:

Imaging analysis with FSL or SPM. Programming with Python or Matlab.

Thilo van Eimeren, MD

My scientific curiosity is directed at structural and molecular determinants of brain function in health and disease. I am particularly invested in applying and combining molecular and functional imaging methods to understand mechanisms of pathology in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinsonian Disorders and Alzheimer’s disease. I am also highly engaged in the translation of research in my field from basic to clinical science and the deployment of more advanced clinical standards of neuroimaging. For example, I coordinate national and international groups for the harmonization of imaging standards and organize a symposium on translational molecular imaging in neurodegeneration (MINC symposium).

As a leader of this group, I am dedicated to empowering young scientists to find their vocation and to achieve their full professional potential. 

Professional links: LinkedIn

Adrian Asendorf, M.Sc.

I joined the MMNI lab as a PhD candidate in January 2022. I am interested in resilience mechanisms in PD. For this purpose, I work a lot with resting state fMRI together with dopamine sensitive PET imaging. By using multimodal approaches I investigate the mechanistic link between dopaminergic degeneration and alterations in dynamics of large-scale functional networks. Furthermore, I am highly involved in the implementation of the currently ongoing DoMoCo study. Finally, I am committed to building and maintaining a reliable IT structure for the MMNI lab.

Professional links: LinkedIn, ResearchGate, GitHub

Academic education:

PeriodInstitutionDegree / Topic
01/2022 – PresentUniv. Hospital ColognePh.D. in Neuroimaging – Resilience in PD
2019 – 2021Univ. of CologneM.Sc. Neuroscience – Dynamic FC in PD
2015 – 2019Univ. of BonnB.Sc. Biology – Multimodal electrophysiology

Professional experience:

PeriodInstitutionRole / Focus
2021Univ. Hospital CologneInternship – Neuroimaging preprocessing
2020Life & Brain Center BonnInternship – Patch clamp in epilepsy model
2020Univ. of CologneLab rotation – Multi-array recordings
2019Univ. Hospital CologneLab rotation – DBS electrode stability
2018Univ. of BonnStudy Assistant – Electrophysiology & teaching

Ask me about: Coding in Python and R. Resting state fMRI techniques, such as dynamic functional connectivity, graph therory and basically any IT related issues.

Verena Dzialas, MSc

I am interested in resilience mechanisms (the body’s own coping mechanisms to counteract disease-related alterations) in Parkinson’s disease. In this context, I am also exploring the utility of dopamine transporter imaging as a suitable monitoring biomarker of disease progression.

CV as PDF

Ask me about:

– python coding problems, including implementation of new MRI or non-MRI tasks (if you have problems with MATLAB I will help you, but you need to bring chocolate because I hate it)

– statistics, I love to discuss statistics, most preferably linear mixed models

– graph theory

– theoretical machine learning for practical implementation please ask Elena Doering

Hendrik Theis, MD

I am a resident physician in the Department of Neurology and a clinician scientist in the MMNI group. I have been working in the MMNI group for almost ten years. My main research area is molecular imaging of atypical Parkinsonian syndromes with a special focus on Tau-PET in progressive supranuclear palsy. Additionally, I use Tau-PET imaging in IgLON5 and I am also interested in examining nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease with multimodal imaging. I am the study physician of our DoMoCo study. My clinical focus is movement disorders, botulinum toxin therapy, and neurological intensive care medicine.

Professional links: LinkedIn, ResearchGate

Academic education:

PeriodInstitutionDegree / Topic  
2016-2021University of CologneM.D.
2015-2019University of Cologne University of BernMedicine, clinical part
2013-2015University of CologneMedicine, preclinical part

Professional experience:

PeriodInstitutionRole / Focus
2023-todayUniversity of CologneCologne Clinician Scientist
2022-2022University of CologneGerok position
2020-todayUniversity Hospital of Cologne Department of NeurologyResident Physician

Ask me about: Atypical Parkinsonism, PET imaging, especially Tau-PET, IgLON5, nonmotor symptoms in PD, DoMoCo

Merle Hönig, Dr. nat. med

I’m a trained cognitive scientist and neuropsychologist, who has been working in the MMNI lab for almost 10 years now. My PhD was focused on the role of education and functional connectivity on tau spreading in Alzheimer’s disease. As a postdoc and now deputy group leader, I use behavioral, wearable technology and multimodal neuroimaging methods to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying resilience and resistance towards the two extremes of the aging process, namely super aging and pathological aging such as Alzheimer’s disease. Aside from my research interest, I’m mentoring medical students and PhD candidates and try to share my wisdom 😉

Professional links: ORCHID, LinkedIn

Academic education:

PeriodInstitutionDegree / Topic  
01/2016-12/2019University Clinic ColognePhD
09/2013-08/2015Maastricht UniversityM.Sc., Clinical and cognitive neuroscience
10/2010 – 08/2013University of OsnabrueckB.Sc., Cognitive science

Professional experience:

PeriodInstitutionFocus / Role  
Since 2024University Clinic CologneDeputy group leader
Since 2021University Clinic CologneCo-PI C03 project “Dopamine and Motor Control” in CRC1451
Since 2010Research Center Juelich, INM-2Postdoctoral researcher
2015-2019University Clinic ColognePhD candidate
2015Research Center Juelich, INM-1Research assistant
2014MedtronicResearch assistant
2012-2013Pacific Parkinson’s Research CenterResearch assistant

Ask me about:
Soft skills: Being a younger woman in science, how to stay on top of things (time management, patience, etc.)

Other skills: PET processing, statistics, administrative stuff

Kathrin Giehl, PhD

MedizinFoto Köln

I am a neuroscientist and scientific project manager in the MMNI group and at the Research Center Jülich interested in improving our understanding of pathogenic and therapeutic mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. I coordinate a variety of investigator-initiated studies and industry-sponsored trials, ultimately aiming to improve patient therapy and care. In this context, I support my team in organizational, regulatory, ethical and legal questions. Finally, I am passionate about increasing the recognition for data collection and sharing within the neuroimaging community.

 

Professional links: LinkedIn, ResearchGate

Academic education:

PeriodInstitutionDegree / Topic
2015–2020University Hospital ColognePhD – Health Sciences, focus on cognition in Parkinson’s disease
2012–2014Free University AmsterdamMSc – Cognitive Neuropsychology, focus on cognitive neurology
2010–2013Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am MainBSc – Biological Sciences, focus on animal physiology

Professional experience:

PeriodInstitutionRole / Focus
2019 – presentResearch Center JülichScientific project manager & neuroscientist
2015 – presentUniversity Hospital CologneScientific project manager & neuroscientist
2014 – 2015University of OxfordResearch associate

Ask me about: Experimental design, fMRI, project management, clinical trials and their challenges and chances