Team Member

MAIN AREAS OF WORK

• Depression
• Burnout and other stress-related syndromes
• Sleep disorders
• Anxiety disorders
  • e.g. panic disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorders
  • Obsessive thoughts, compulsive actions
• Bipolar disorders
• Psychotic illnesses
  • Schizophrenia and other psychoses
• Addictive disorders*
  • e.g. increased or problematic consumption of alcohol and/or medication
• Personality disorders
  • e.g. borderline syndrome, impulse control disorders, narcissism
• Eating disorders
  • e.g. anorexia, bulimia, binge eating
• Body schema disorders
• Chronic pain and other psychosomatic complaints
• Memory disorders and dementia
• Psychological complaints in connection with challenging relationship or family situations
• Mental complaints in connection with other physical illnesses
  

Education and professional experience

• 2005 - 2012 Medical studies at the MUW with graduation as "Doctor of Medicine" (Dr.med.univ. or MD)
• 2012 - 2019 Doctoral studies in applied medical science at the MUW with doctorate as "Doctor of Medical Science" (Dr. scient.med. or PhD)
• 2013 - 2018 Psychiatric training at the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
  - Specialist diploma in psychiatry and psychotherapeutic medicine (Austrian Academy of Physicians, Medical Chamber of Vienna)
  - Completion of the course "Psychoanalytic Therapy 2012" at the Academy for Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Training Association for Psychotherapeutic Medicine Vienna.
• Since 2019 Senior Physician at the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
• 11/2022 Habilitation in the field of "Psychiatry" (Priv.-Doz. or PD)
• Seit 07/2024 Zuspruch der Internen Karrierevereinbarung (IKV) an der MUW (IKV-Periode: 01.10.2024 – 30.09.2027)

Teaching activity

• Since 2010 supervision of diploma students in the working group "Clinical Neuroimaging" (Head: Assoc.Prof. Priv.Doz.Dr. Lukas Pezawas; http://www.pezawas.at).
• Since 2014 supervision of students of human medicine in their clinical-practical year (KPJ) at the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
• Since 2015 Teaching as part of the Psychiatry Block and the Psychiatry Tertial (seminars and lectures), Department of Human Medicine, University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
• Since 2019 teaching in the context of lectures "Basics of Neuroscience", field of study: doctoral program "Neuroscience", Center for Brain Research, Pathobiology of the Nervous System, MUW and University of Vienna.
• Since 2019 Psychotherapeutic supervision of physicians in specialist training at the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
• Since 2020 co-supervision of PhD students in the field of therapy-resistant depression (TRD) under the direction of Mr. em. O.Univ.Prof. Dr.h.c.mult. Dr.med. Siegfried Kasper (https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/research/researcher-profiles/researcher-profiles/detail/?res=siegfried_kasper&cHash=851ddba018b0dcfca6dcdb89358ba24f) at the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
• Since WS 2020: Supervision of diploma students at the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
• Since 2020, creation of clinical case studies with a focus on treatment-resistant depression for an electronically available international learning module for physicians (The European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, CME/CPD credits. http://www.med-sims.org).
• Since 2020, mentoring of students at the MUW as part of the Senior Mentoring Program (https://teachingcenter.meduniwien.ac.at/lehre-und-projects/mentoring program/senior-mentoring/profile-of-senior-mentors/profile-details/?ment_id=435&name=Lucie_Bartova).
• Since 2021 teaching as part of an elective course "Star Wars Technologies - Bow and Arrow Diagnosis" - The multifaceted manic-depressive clinical picture in the last 2000 years" for students of human medicine, University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
• Since 2021 teaching as part of the doctoral program in applied medical science (Thematic Program: Mental Health and Behavioural Medicine), University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, MUW.
• Since 2022 Certificate for Medical Teaching Vienna (MLW)
• Seit 2023 Mitglied von Prüfungskommissionen bei Verteidigungen der Diplomarbeiten an der MUW.
• Seit 2023 Innendienst-Supervision von Assistenzärzt:innen der Univ. Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, MUW
• Seit 2023 stv. Mitglied des MCW (Kleingruppenkoordinator/in im Planungsteam Block 20 ÄGF-C)
• Seit 2023 Mitglied von Prüfungskommissionen bei Verteidigungen von PhD Arbeiten an der Medizinischen Universität Graz (MUG)
• Seit 2024 Verfassung von wissenschaftlichen Artikeln/Lernunterlagen zum Thema „unipolare Depression“ und therapieresistente Depression TRD). Neurotorium (https://neurotorium.org)
• Seit 2024 Journal Club im Rahmen des Doktoratstudiums „Neuroscience“ an der MUW und Universität Wien: JC – Translational Neuroscience: How Not to Be Wrong Inferring Causal Factors of Diseases from Mechanistic Insights of Neuroscience Research
• Seit 2025 Mitglied von Prüfungskommissionen bei Habilitationskolloquien an der MUG

Research activities

Current research areas

Depression
Participation in projects to research neurobiological correlates associated with the development mechanisms and treatment options for unipolar depression using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)(https://generalpsychiatry.meduniwien.ac.at/wissenschaft-forschung/forschungsgruppen/clinical-neuroimaging/).

Schizophrenia
Participation in projects to research dopamine metabolism in the brain in healthy test subjects and in patients with first-onset schizophrenia or a so-called "at-risk mental state (ARMS)", using the nuclear medicine examination method positron emission tomography (PET) and the substance [11C]-(+)-PHNO(https://generalpsychiatry.meduniwien.ac.at/wissenschaft-forschung/forschungsgruppen/psychosis-imaging-group/).

Psychopharmakotherapie
Teilnahme an Projekten zur Erforschung von Therapie -anwendung, -möglichkeiten –ansprechen und -nebenwirkungen bei häufigen psychiatrischen Erkrankungen wie z.B. Depression, Bipolar-affektive Störung, Schizophrenie, Demenz sowie herausfordernden klinischen Phänomenen wie Agitation und Suizidalität (Schwerpunkt: TRD, Arzneimittelsicherheit; https://generalpsychiatry.meduniwien.ac.at/wissenschaft-forschung/forschungsschwerpunkte/)

Long COVID Syndrom mit neuropsychiatrischen Manifestationen

Betreuung und Supervision von Projekten zur Erforschung von Therapie -anwendung, -möglichkeiten –ansprechen und -nebenwirkungen bei neuropsychiatrischen Manifestationen des sog. Long COVID Syndroms.

Derzeit wird die Anwendung eines bereits bei der unipolaren Depression und Angsterkrankungen etablierten Therapiealgorithmus bei Long COVID assoziierten Symptomen wie Erschöpfung/Fatigue, Schmerzen und weitere psychosomatische Beschwerden, kognitive Defizite wie Brain Fog, Angst und Depression untersucht (1. Evidenzbasierte Phytotherapie, 2. Konventionelle antidepressive Psychopharmakotherapie, 3. Konventionelle Augmentations- und Kombinationstherapie, 4. Add-on Psychopharmakotherapie mit (Es)Ketamin)..

Publication activity

Awards

• 2011 and 2012 MUW merit scholarships in recognition of outstanding academic achievements.
• 2012 - 2019 Travel Awards of the Austrian Research Foundation(https://www.oefg.at).
• 2014 Prize of the Austrian Society for Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry (ÖGPB; https://oegpb.at) for Clinical Psychiatry for the publication "Combination of Tranylcypromine and S-ketamine in a Severely Depressed Treatment-Resistant Patient" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26302763/).
• 2017 Young Investigator Award of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP; https://generalpsychiatry.meduniwien.ac.at/news/single-view/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2892&cHash=edf29933d1d867fc2c69231fbd668591) for the publication "Effective antidepressant treatment with alternating intravenous racemic ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy in treatment resistant depression: A case report" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28520578/).
• 2018 Travel Grant from the European Psychiatric Association (EPA; https://www.europsy.net) for the publication "Dose escalation of antidepressants in unipolar depression: a meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized controlled trials" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28903107/).
• 2020 Recognition award from the Dr. Maria Schaumayer Foundation (http://schaumayerstiftung.net/cgi-bin/view.cgi?page=foundation) for the promotion of women's careers for the doctoral thesis "Neuroimaging Correlates of Acute and Remitted Major Depressive Disorder" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25801734/; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30718459/).
• 2020/2021 Rafaelsen Young Investigators Award of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP; https://cinp.org/Rafaelsen Award) for the scientific paper "Melancholic features in major depression - a European multicenter study" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33609603/).
• 2021 Rising Star Award as part of the virtual IFMAD Congress 2021 (19th International Forum on Mood and Anxiety Disorders; https://ifmad.org/2021/?page_id=2841) for the publication "The Role of Sex in Patients with MDD - Findings from a Cross- Sectional European Multicenter Study" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34110066/).
• 2021 Certificate of excellence in reviewing 2020 (The International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice; https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ijpc20/current).
• 2022 Lore-Antoine Prize in the "Top Publication" category (Sex-related effects in major depressive disorder: Results of the European Group for the Study of Resistant Depression) from the Organization of Austrian Women Physicians (www.aerztinnen-oesterreich.at).
• 2023 Certificate from ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA (Top Journal, IF 2021: 7.734) a Top Cited Article 2021-2022 (Combining machine learning algorithms for prediction of antidepressant treatment response; PMID: 33141944; PMCID: PMC7839691)Seit 2011 Young Scientist Association (YSA; https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/ueber-uns/young-scientist-association-ysa/), MUW