Alumni (PhD)

This page honors the achievements of the PhD alumni of the Neurosciences Program. The first PhD graduates of the Neurosciences program submitted their doctoral thesis by September 2003. We would like to congratulate and wish them all the best for their future.

To search the Neurosciences alumni database (for internal use only), click here.

The Neuroscience Newsletter is available in the Newsletter section.

The following doctoral thesis projects have been successfully completed in the Neurosciences Program since 2003. Click on name of student or thesis committee member for further details (student pages are not further updated after the doctorate). Click on title of doctoral thesis for online dissertation.

Doctoral theses 2011

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Ramya Nair	Synaptic Targeting of Neurotransmitter Receptors is Regulated by Neurobeachin	Nils Brose , Tobias Moser , Erwin Neher	MPI for Experimental Medicine , Moleular Neurobiology
Pinar Öz	Theoretical analysis of membrane properties underlying action potential phase-locking in noise-driven cells	Tobias Moser , Fred Wolf , Walter Stühmer	University of Göttingen, InnerEarLab
Nikhil Sasidharan	Analysis of the RAB family of GTPases in C. elegans and their role in regulating neuronal membrane trafficking	Stefan Eimer , Nils Brose, Walter Stühmer	European Neuroscience Institute, Molecular Neurogenetics
Raunak Sinha	Optical analysis of synaptic vesicle protein molecules during exo- and endocytosis using pH-switchable fluorescent probes	Jürgen Klingauf, Erwin Neher , Walter Stühmer	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Membrane Biophysics

Doctoral theses 2010

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Ye Chen	Subcellular localization of Kv10.1 (Eag1): functional ion channels on the inner nuclear membrane	Walter Stühmer , Dirk Fasshauer, Jakob Soerensen	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Molecular Biology of Neuronal Signals
Thomas Frank	Investigating the Calcium Signaling at Ribbon Synapses	Tobias Moser , Detlev Schild , Erwin Neher	University of Göttingen, InnerEarLab
Sebastian Gliem	Characterization of olfactory receptor gene expression in the olfactory epithelium of larval Xenopus laevis	Detlev Schild, Ralf Heinrich, Jürgen Wienands	University of Göttingen, Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics
Mrinalini Hoon	Role of Neuroligins at the Inhibitory Postsynaptic Compartment of the Retina	Frederique Varoqueaux, Nils Brose, Tobias Moser	MPI for Experimental Medicine , Moleular Neurobiology
Wen Hu	Effects of stress on the GABAergic system in the hippocampal formation and medial prefrontal cortex of the adult male rat	Gabriele Flügge, Ralf Heinrich, Hubertus Jarry	German Primate Center, Clinical Neurobiology
Chao-Hua Huang	The mechanisms underlying synaptic transmission at the layer 4 of sensory cortical areas	Erwin Neher, Oliver Schlüter, Tobias Moser	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Membrane Biophysics
Ling Luo	Regulation of intracellular trafficking by UNC-50 and the GARP complex in C. elegans	Stefan Eimer, Erwin Neher, Fred Wouters	European Neuroscience Institute, Molecular Neurogenetics
David Owald	Early Active Zone Assembly in Drosophila	Erwin Neher, Stephan Sigrist, Evgeni Ponimaskin	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Membrane Biophysics
Shahaf Peleg	Altered Histone 4 K12 Acetylation is Associated with Age Dependent Memory Impairment in Mice	André Fischer, Mathias Bähr, Wolfgang Fischle	European Neuroscience Institute, Laboratory for Aging and Cognitive Diseases
Andrea Wirmer	Modulatory effects of nitric oxide and juvenile hormone on the control of reproductive behavior in female Chorthippus biguttulus	Ralf Heinrich, Gabriele Flügge, Andreas Stumpner	University of Göttingen, Neurobiology
Andrew T. Woehler	Quantitative analysis of Förster resonance energy transfer from spectrally resolved fluorescence measurements	Erwin Neher, Evgeni Ponimaskin, Detlev Schild	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Membrane Biophysics

Doctoral theses 2009

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Ioanna Bethani	Investigation of SNARE function in the early endosomal compartment	Reinhard Jahn, Nils Brose, Evgeni Ponimaskin	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry , Neurobiology
Esther Breunig	Transduction in Olfactory Receptor Neurons of Xenopus laevis Larvae: Pharmacological Blockage with FM1-43 and Endocannabinoid Modulation	Detlev Schild, Tobias Moser , Walter Stühmer	University of Göttingen, Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics
Annette Heinrich	Molecular mechanisms of the effect of the mood stabilizer lithium on cAMP-induced CREB transcriptional activity	Gabriele Flügge, Ralf Heinrich, Klaus-Armin Nave	German Primate Center, Clinical Neurobiology
Min Huang	Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Pattern Formation in the Cerebral Cortex: Visual Maps, Population Response and Action Potential Generation	Fred Wolf, Stefan Treue, Tobias Moser	MPI for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Nonlinear Dynamics
Stephan Junek	Investigation of spatio-temporal coding in the olfactory bulb of larval Xenopus laevis using fast confocal imaging	Detlev Schild, Erwin Neher, Fred Wolf	University of Göttingen, Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics
Schanila Nawaz	The Role of Phosphoinositides in the Interaction of Myelin Basic Protein with the Oligodendroglial Cell Membrane	Klaus-Armin Nave, Reinhard Jahn, Evgeni Ponimaskin	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Neurogenetics
Anjana Nityanandam	Investigation of Sip1 gene interactions in the development of the mammalian telencephalon	Walter Stühmer, Klaus-Armin Nave, Kerstin Krieglstein	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Molecular Biology of Neuronal Signals
Marija Sumakovic	The role of UNC-108/RAB-2 in neuronal dense core vesicle maturation in C. elegans	Stefan Eimer, Reinhard Jahn, Herbert Jäckle	European Neuroscience Institute, Molecular Neurogenetics
Alexander Walter	The timing of the final assembly of the SNARE complex in exocytosis	Jakob Soerensen, Reinhard Jahn, Tobias Moser	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry , Molecular Mechanisms of Exocytosis
Arwed Weigel	Quantitation Strategies in Optically Sectioning Fluorescence Microscopy	André Zeug, Detlev Schild, Walter Stühmer	University of Göttingen, Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics

Doctoral theses 2008

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Amit Agarwal	Cortical development and myelination in the absence of Schizophrenia susceptibility gene Neuregulin1	Klaus-Armin Nave, Mathias Bähr, Markus Missler	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Neurogenetics
Katharina Anton-Erxleben	Psychophysics and physiology of attentional influences on visual motion processing	Stefan Treue, Jens Frahm, Thomas Rammsayer	German Primate Center, Cognitive Neuroscience and Biological Psychology
Tsai-Wen Chen	A Systems Level Analysis of Neuronal Network Function in the Olfactory Bulb: Coding, Connectivity, and Modular organization	Detlev Schild, Walter Stühmer, Fred Wolf	University of Göttingen, Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics
Michael Kunst	Functional organisation of the central complex of the grasshopper Chorthippus biguttulus in relation to the control of sound production	Ralf Heinrich, Nils Brose, Tobias Moser	University of Göttingen, Neurobiology
Lucian Medrihan	Early synaptic imbalance in genetic mice models of Autistic Spectrum Disorders	Weiqi Zhang, Nils Brose, Markus Missler	University of Göttingen, Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Luis Felipe Opazo	Glutamate-induced reversal of dopamine transport is mediated by the PKC signaling pathway	Jörg B. Schulz, Walter Stühmer, Mathias Bähr	University of Göttingen, Neurodegeneration
Alexandros Poulopoulos	Mechanisms of Neuroligin Function in Inhibitory Postsynaptic Differentiation	Nils Brose, Evgeni Ponimaskin, Ralf Heinrich	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Molecular Neurobiology
Derya Sargin	Novel treatment approaches based on identification of molecular determinants in neuropsychiatric diseases	Hannelore Ehrenreich, Klaus-Armin Nave, Nils Brose	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Clinical Neurosciences
Kamila Sroka	Huntingtin toxicity is ameliorated by BAG1 through modulation of its aggregation, degradation and subcellular distribution	Mathias Bähr, Klaus-Armin Nave, Fred Wouters	University of Göttingen, Neurology
Kristian Wadel	The mechanism mediating fast neurotransmitter release at the calyx of Held synapse	Erwin Neher, Reinhard Jahn, Tobias Moser	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Membrane Biophysics

Doctoral theses 2007

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Pinar Boyraz	Perception of visual motion speed in human and monkey	Stefan Treue, Jens Frahm, Uwe Jürgens	German Primate Center, Cognitive Neuroscience and Biological Psychology
Benjamin Cooper	Membrane glycoprotein M6a: expression and regulation by stress in the brain	Gabriele Flügge, Klaus-Armin Nave, Ursula Havemann-Reinecke	German Primate Center, Clinical Neurobiology
Irina Dudanova	Roles of α-neurexins in synapse stabilization and Ca2+-dependent endocrine secretion	Markus Missler, Kerstin Krieglstein, Stephan Sigrist	University of Göttingen, Center for Physiology
Konstantin Glebov	Role of palmitoylation in the serotonin receptor functioning	Evgeni Ponimaskin, Diethelm Richter, Harald Neumann	University of Göttingen, Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Garrit Jentsch	Modelling chemical signalling as stochastic reaction diffusion systems	Rainer Kree, Erwin Neher, Annette Zippelius	University of Göttingen, Institute of Theoretical Physics
Henry Harry Lütcke	The role of human medial frontal cortex in cognition investigated by functional magnetic resonance imaging	Jens Frahm, Stefan Treue, Thomas Rammsayer	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Biomedical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Ltd.
Gaston Sendin	Maturation of ribbon synapses in hair cells is driven by thyroid hormone	Tobias Moser, Jakob Soerensen, Detlev Schild	University of Göttingen, InnerEarLab

Doctoral theses 2006

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Nashat Abumaria	Identification of Genes in the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus Regulated by Chronic Stress and Citalopram	Gabriele Flügge, Eckart Rüther, Nils Brose	German Primate Center, Clinical Neurobiology
Mohiuddin Ahmad	The role of α-neurexins in Ca2+-dependent synaptic transmission and plasticity	Markus Missler, Detlev Schild, Nils Brose	University of Göttingen, Center for Physiology
Ignacio Delgado Martínez	Functional Studies of SNAP-25 Using a Knock-Out and Rescue Approach	Jakob Sørensen, Reinhard Jahn, Detlev Schild	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, AG Molecular Mechanisms of Exocytosis
Ajit Singh Dhaunchak	Subcellular trafficking of proteolipid protein (PLP/DM20) and novel mechanisms of ER retention in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease	Klaus-Armin Nave, Reinhard Jahn, Harald Neumann	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Neurogenetics
Emilio Erazo Fischer	The role of auditory sensory input during functional pre- and postsynaptic maturation of the calyx of Held synapse	Erwin Neher, Walter Stühmer, Tobias Moser	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Membrane Biophysics
José Tiago Goncalves	Visualization of the Ca²⁺-dependent regulation of voltage-gated Ether-à-go-go channels by FRET microscopy	Walter Stühmer, Erwin Neher, Fred Wouters	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Molecular Biology of Neuronal Signals
Olexiy Kochubey	Probing modes of vesicle docking in neurosecretory cells with evanescent wave microscopy	Jürgen Klingauf, Erwin Neher, Tobias Moser	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Microscopy of Synaptic Transmission
Natalya Korogod	Mechanisms of posttetanic potentiation and its possible role in maturation of the calyx of Held synapse	Ralf Schneggenburger, Erwin Neher, Markus Missler	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, AG Synaptic Dynamics and Modulation
Bei-Jung Lin	Odor Modulation of Electrical and [Ca²⁺]_iActivities in Neurons of the Olfactory Bulb	Detlev Schild, Eberhard Fuchs, Walter Stühmer	University of Göttingen, Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Ira Milosevic	Spatial and temporal aspects of PI(4,5)P₂ and SNAREs in exocytosis studied using isolated membrane sheets and capacitance measurements	Erwin Neher, Reinhard Jahn, Detlev Schild	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Membrane Biophysics
Amaya Miquelajáuregui	Role of Smad-interacting Protein 1 (Sip1/Zfhx1b) in the development of the cerebral cortex	Walter Stühmer, Nils Brose, Herbert Jäckle	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Molecular Biology of Neuronal Signals
Manuela Schmidt	Characterization of synaptic protein complexes in Drosophila melanogaster	Stephan Sigrist, Herbert Jäckle, Fred Wouters	European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, Neuroplasticity
Zinayida Shevtsova	Development of Viral Tools for CNS Gene Transfer: Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors in Gene Therapy of Parkinson’s Disease	Mathias Bähr, Markus Missler, Reinhard Jahn	University of Göttingen, Neurology
Martin Wienisch	Visualization of synaptic vesicle protein recycling during exo-endocytosis at individual hippocampal boutons	Jürgen Klingauf, Erwin Neher, Detlev Schild	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Microscopy of Synaptic Transmission

Doctoral theses 2005

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Monika Albert	Grey matter pathology in multiple sclerosis	Klaus-Armin Nave, Harald Neumann, Jens Frahm	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Neurogenetics
Yaisa Seretha Andrews-Zwilling	Targeting and anchoring of Munc13-1 and ubMunc13-2 to active zones by RIM1α	Nils Brose, Reinhard Jahn, Friedrich-Wilhelm Schürmann	MPI for Experimental Medicine, Molecular Neurobiology
Marcin Barszczewski	The establishment and characterization of an improved cell-free assay for exocytosis in neuroendocrine PC12 cells	Reinhard Jahn, Erwin Neher, Nils Brose	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Neurobiology
Urs Heilbronner	Alpha-2 adrenoceptors in the paraventricular thalamic nucleus: effects of agonist stimulation and chronic psychosocial stress	Gabriele Flügge, Friedrich-Wilhelm Schürmann, Willhart Knepel	German Primate Center, Clinical Neurobiology
Darina Khimich	Molecular physiology of the inner hair cell ribbon synapses	Tobias Moser, Erwin Neher, Norbert Elsner	University of Göttingen, Otorhinolaryngology
Ibrahim John Mohammed Malik	Long-term neuroprotection in an optic nerve axotomy model using recombinant Adeno Associated Virus (rAAV)	Mathias Bähr, Reinhard Jahn, Harald Neumann	University of Göttingen, Neurology
Till Manzke	Expression and function of serotonin receptor isoforms in the respiratory system	Diethelm Richter, Erwin Neher, Willhart Knepel	University of Göttingen, Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Christian Rochford	Targeting Gene Therapy to Neuroinflammatory Lesions in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis	Harald Neumann, Erwin Neher, Nils Brose	European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, Neuroimmunology
Jan Schindehütte	Embryonic stem cell-based cell replacement therapy - Neurotransplantation in the rat model of Parkinson’s disease -	Walter Paulus, Peter Gruss, Eberhard Fuchs	University of Göttingen, Clinical Neurophysiology
Laura Elizabeth Swan	Role of the mGRIP1 homologue DGrip in the Drosophila neuromuscular system	Stephan Sigrist, Nils Brose, Erwin Neher	European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, Neuroplasticity
Katalin Szöke	Function of glial cells in the inhibitory synaptic transmission of the respiratory network	Swen Hülsmann, Klaus-Armin Nave, Diethelm Richter	University of Göttingen, Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Shi-Bing Yang	Block of potassium channels by haloperidol and its related compounds	Marjan Rupnik, Erwin Neher, Tobias Moser	European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, Neuroendocrinology

Doctoral theses 2004

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Friederike Bergmann	Mitochondrial metabolism in hypoglossal motoneurons from mouse – implications for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)	Bernhard Keller, Walter Paulus, Erwin Neher	University of Göttingen, Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Ekaterina Papoucheva	The functional role of palmitoyaltion of the 5-HT_1A receptor	Evgeni Ponimaskin, Reinhard Jahn, Friedrich-Wilhelm Schürmann	University of Göttingen, Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Tobias Manuel Rasse	In vivo imaging of long-term changes in the Drosophila neuromuscular system	Stephan Sigrist, Erwin Neher, Herbert Jäckle	European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen Neuroplasticity
Stephan Speier	Electrophysiological characterization of insulin secreting β-cells in pancreatic tissue slices	Marjan Rupnik, Erwin Neher, Stephan Sigrist	European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, Neuroendocrinology
Keneuoe Hycianth Thinyane	Transplantation of mouse embryonic stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons in a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesion rat model of Parkinson’s Disease: characterisation of the fate of the engrafted cells and the host responses	Walter Paulus, Eberhard Fuchs, Friedrich-Wilhelm Schürmann	University of Göttingen, Clinical Neurophysiology

Doctoral theses 2003

Student	Title of doctoral thesis	PhD Thesis Committee	Institution, Department
Martin Balastik	Trim2 mutant mice as a model for cerebellar ataxia	Peter Gruss, Klaus-Armin Nave, Wolfgang Engel	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Molecular Cell Biology
Ivan Manzini	Diversity of transduction mechanisms in receptor neurons of the main olfactory epithelium in Xenopus laevis tadpoles	Detlev Schild, Friedrich-Wilhelm Schürmann, Walter Stühmer	University of Göttingen, Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Gábor Nagy	Pre- and Posttranslational Regulation of Neurosecretion	Erwin Neher, Diethelm Richter, Reinhard Jahn	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Membrane Biophysics
Joanna Napp	N-linked glycosylation of ether á go-go potassium channels: effects on cell surface expression and functional properties	Walter Stühmer, Reinhard Jahn, Michael Rickmann	MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Cellular Biology