Team
Principal Investigator
Ass.-Prof. Dr. Olga Maria Klimecki-Lenz
Principal Investigator
Biological Psychology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria
Olga Klimecki is currently assistant professor in Biological Psychology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. She holds a PhD (Dr. phil., summa cum laude) from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and a Dr. rer. nat. habil. from Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. She studied neuroscience (at University College London, UK) and psychology (at the University of Mainz, Germany). She has previously worked at the Universties of Zurich, Geneva, Jena, Hamburg (HSU) and Dresden.
Her research focuses on the promotion of mental and physical health across the lifespan. Olga and her team use randomised controlled studies to test the causal impact of behavioural, cognitive, and emotional interventions. Olga and her team study bio-psycho-social mechanisms of action with a focus on brain functions and connectivity, emotions, as well as interpersonal and intergroup behaviour. Currently, the team is particularly curious about the impact of socio-emotional learning interventions on the well-being of adolescents and their teachers.
Olga has (co-)authored over 100 publications, has received several grants and awards, and has been a co-principal investigator of the longest meditation study to date – the Medit-Ageing / Silver Santé study. Olga is also practicing and teaching mindfulness meditation. Currently, she is exploring embodied mindfulness practices incorporating movement and dancing.
Lab administration
Irene Alessandri
University of Innsbruck, Austria
Room: 4S13 (4. Stock)
Email: Irene.Alessandri@uibk.ac.at
Telephone: +43 (0) 512 507-56010
Julia Baumgartner
University of Innsbruck, Austria
Room: 4S13 (4. Stock)
Email: Julia.Baumgartner@uibk.ac.at
Telefone: +43 (0) 512 507-56091
PhD Students
Andrea Dalla Sega
Ph.D. Candidate & Research Assistant
Biological Psychology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria
Andrea is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Innsbruck, where his research focuses on the impact of socio-emotional learning on emotion regulation as well as the underlying neural, physiological, and behavioral correlates. Andrea holds a Master’s degree in Body and Mind Sciences from the University of Turin, where he received interdisciplinary training in cognitive neuroscience, clinical neuropsychology, and medical sciences. His previous research focused on the neural mechanisms of embodied cognition and socio-emotional processes, with a particular emphasis on how brain-body interactions shape perception, action, and well-being.
Email: Andrea.Dalla-Sega@uibk.ac.at
Monica Di Giuliano
Ph.D. Candidate & Research Assistant
University Clinic of Jena (UKJ), Department of Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy
Monica holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. Her research lies at the intersection of cognitive, affective, and computational neuroscience, as well as clinical psychology. She has a particular focus on dynamical causal modelling applications in neuropsychiatric and healthy populations. She is currently a PhD student at the University Clinic of Jena (UKJ) in the Autonomic Neuroscience, Imaging and Cognition Laboratory (LANIC), where she is working on projects examining brain connectivity and autonomic disorder signatures in anorexia nervosa.
Maxie Luft (Liebscher)
Ph.D. Student (Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes)
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Dresden, Germany
Maxie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Cognitive-Affective Neuroscience from the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. Her research interests focus on resilience in aging, dementia prevention, and multimodal neuroimaging techniques, particularly brain connectome and functional brain connectivity. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. that investigates the role of lifestyle factors and brain networks in enhancing resilience in aging. She is co-supervised by Dr. habil. Miranka Wirth at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Dresden, Germany.
Email: maxie.luft@dzne.de
Julia Alexandra Krüger
Ph.D. Student
Julia Alexandra holds a Master’s degree from the University of Münster, with a focus on Clinical Psychology and Work and Organizational Psychology. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Helmut Schmidt University, where her research examines the dynamics of social relationships. In her current meta-analysis project, she investigates the effectiveness of interventions aimed at enhancing social competence and addressing callous-unemotional traits, with a particular focus on their potential to prevent juvenile delinquency.
François Bogacz
Ph.D. Student
Singapore Management University
François´ research focuses on the causal impact of mediation on conflict resolution. In his current project, François studies the use of language-only, rule-based Artificial Intelligence systems for the systematic analysis of mediation interactions and the impact of mediator interventions on the emotional state and satisfaction of parties. In addition to doing his PhD, François is head of learning and innovation for the Executive Development at Singapore Management University.
Email: fbogacz@smu.edu.sg
Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0WGtsQIAAAAJ&hl=de&oi=ao
Research assistants
Lisa Bechtum
Bachelor Candidate
University of Innsbruck Institute of Psychology, Department of Biological Psychology
Lisa studies psychology at the University of Innsbruck and is a student assistant in biological psychology. Her main interests lie in biological psychology, with a particular focus on the interaction between nutrition and mental health. She is especially interested in the gut–brain axis and emerging approaches in metabolic psychiatry.
In her free time, she enjoys sports, riding her motorbike, and volunteering as a paramedic.
Email: lisa.bechtum@uibk.ac.at
Julia Halina Georgi
Student Assistant for teaching
University of Innsbruck, Austria
Master students
Laura Heffenträger
Master Student
at TU Dresden, Master in Clinical Psychology
Currently working on master thesis investigating whether changes in interoceptive awareness are linked to changes in well-being after a mind–body intervention.
Phone: +49 17656760240
Fabiana Lazur
Master Student
Fabiana is pursuing her Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. As a member of the Biological Psychology Lab in Innsbruck, she contributes to the Medit-Ageing project (Silver Santé Study) by exploring whether mindfulness training in older adults experiencing subjective cognitive decline can create ripple effects, enhancing not only their own prosocial behavior and well-being but also positively influencing their partners and close relationships. In her free time, she is passionate about Pilates and meditation, baking with family and friends, and rewatching her favourite shows.
Email: fabiana.lazur@uni-jena.de
Larissa Luksch
Master Student
Larissa is a Master’s student at the University of Innsbruck and contribute to the Medit-Ageing project by exploring changes in emotion regulation and interoceptive awareness, and how these relate to inflammatory biomarkers.
Lisa Marie Kemmer
Master Student
Lisa holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at the University of Innsbruck. She is working on her Master’s thesis within the Medit-Ageing Age-Well study, focusing on the impact of mindfulness meditation on functional brain activity in older adults.
In her free time, Lisa enjoys spending time in the mountains, surfing, and practicing yoga. She is also a certified yoga teacher and is passionate about mind–body practices.
Honorary researcher
Ylenia D'elia
Honorary researcher
University of Valencia, Labpsitec / Polibienestar Institute, Valencia, Spain
Ylenia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Neuroscience. Her research lies at the intersection of cognitive and affective neuroscience and clinical psychology, with a particular focus on how non-pharmacological interventions enhance emotional regulation, resilience, and well-being. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student at the University of Valencia, where she works on projects examining self-related processes and their role in mental health.
Email: ylenia.delia@uv.es
Isabella Maria Mülders
Master Student
Isabella is studying the impact of socio-emotional learning interventions on biological stress markers in adolescents. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Economics from the University of Cologne, where her research focused on the role of microbiomes in cancer prevention and therapy. She is currently studying psychology at Helmut-Schmidt-University / University of the Federal Armed Forces of Germany.
Collaboration Partners
Medit-Ageing: Gael Chetelat (INSERM, Caen, France), Natalie Marchant (UCL, London, UK), Miranka Wirth (DZNE, Dresden, Germany), Antoine Lutz (INSERM, Lyon, France), Geraldine Poisnel (INSERM, Lyon, France), Julie Gonneaud (INSERM, Caen, France), Fabienne Collette (University of Liege, Liege, Belgium), Sebastian Baez Lugo (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland), Patrik Vuilleumier (UNIGE, Geneva, Switzerland).
Bio Happy Life: Ulrike Rimmele (University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland), Karl Zarhuber (formerly: Austrian Red Cross, IFRC), Werner Kerschbaum (formerly: Austrian Red Cross), Katharina Eckstein (University of Jena, Jena, Germany).
Other: Philipp Kanske (TUD, Dresden, Germany), Karl-Jürgen Bär (University of Jena, Jena, Germany), Monika Daseking (HSU, Hamburg, Germany), Antje Rauers (University of Jena, Jena, Germany), Ivana Buric (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands), Miriam Flender (University of Jena, Jena, Germany).