TEAM MEMBERS
UNIV.-PROF. MAG. DR. CARMEN MORAWETZ
Principal Investigator
Carmen is Professor of cognitive, affective, and social neuroscience at the Department of Psychology of the University of Innsbruck. Her research examines how emotions are generated, how we regulate them, and how emotional experience shapes cognition — from decision-making to language and memory — using behavioural, physiological, and neuroimaging methods. She earned her PhD at the University of Göttingen and trained as a postdoc at Freie Universität Berlin and the Medical University of Vienna.
Room 3S14 | carmen.morawetz(at)uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56064 | Consultation hour: Monday, 5pm according to prior agreement
RENATE STRASSER
Administrative Manager
Renate supports the lab and the Department of Psychology, handling travel, purchasing, and day-to-day office management so that research runs smoothly. A long-standing member of the department, she is the first point of contact for staff and students on organisational matters.
Room 3S07 | Renate.strasser(at)uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56009 | Consultation hours: Daily, 9-12am
GAIA LAPOMARDA, MSc PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Gaia studies individual differences in how we generate and regulate emotion, and how these shape perception and decision-making. Working from an embodied-cognition perspective, she combines behavioural, physiological, and neuroimaging methods to trace the dynamic interplay of brain and body. She earned her PhD at the University of Trento and trained as a postdoc at NYU Abu Dhabi.
Projects: InterStressER — emotion regulation before a stressor, resilience, and interoception
Room 3S19 | gaia.lapomarda(at)uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56042
SOFIA AMAOUI, MSc PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Sofia uses neuroscience to understand social phenomena, focusing on the psychological and neural underpinnings of intimate partner violence against women and the attitudes that sustain it, with the aim of informing prevention. She earned her PhD at the University of Granada and completed postdoctoral training at Lusófona University in Porto, studying EEG and interoception in pregnancy.
Projects: NEURO-IPVAW — neural bases of attitudes toward intimate partner violence against women
Room 3S19 | sofia.amaoui(at)uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56048
CHRISTINA GRAMMENOU, MSc
PhD student
Christina works on the IMPROVER project, developing and testing a neuroscience-informed emotion-regulation training programme using neuroimaging and Ecological Momentary Assessment. She completed her degrees in psychology at the University of Salzburg, specialising in cognitive neuroscience, and previously worked at the University Hospital of Tübingen and the Epilepsy Center in Freiburg.
Projects: IMPROVER — a neurally informed cognitive training programme to improve emotion regulation
Room 5W04 | Christina.grammenou(at)uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56093
MI LANDE, MSc
PhD student
Mi investigates the neurobiology of sleep paralysis and its links to emotional experience, bringing together psychology and neurobiology. She holds a BSc in Biology from TU Braunschweig and an MSc in Behaviour, Neurobiology, and Cognition from the University of Vienna.
Projects: EmoSleep — the reciprocal relationship between emotional processing and sleep paralysis
NILS WEHNER, MSc
PhD student
Nils studies emotional resilience in adolescents and how to strengthen it, with a focus on the interaction between frustration and emotion regulation. He earned his BSc and MSc in psychology at the University of Innsbruck.
Projects: EmoFrust - individual differences in emotion-regulation ability and the regulation of frustration
Room 2S17 | nils.wehner(at)uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56089
ANNA GMEINER, MSc
PhD student
Anna works in environmental neuroscience, investigating how natural and built environments shape well-being, emotion, and neural processes. She completed her BSc and MSc in psychology at the University of Innsbruck.
Projects: GREEN — how natural and built environments shape emotion and the brain
Room 3S15 | anna.gmeiner(at)uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56078
LAURA GERVAIS, MSc
PhD student
Laura works on the DEACON project, investigating the role of cognitive abilities in emotion regulation and its neural basis. She completed her BSc and MSc in psychology at the University of Innsbruck.
Projects: DEACON — decoding how emotion regulation differs between people and contexts
Room 3S15 | laura.gervais(at)uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56078
JONATHAN WEBER, MSc
PhD student
Jonathan studies self-transcendent emotions and how the environment shapes the brain, combining computational modelling with fMRI. He holds BSc and MSc degrees in psychology with a minor in digital science from the University of Innsbruck.
Projects: EN-BIOS — how natural environments shape self-transcendent emotions and empathy
Room 5S05 | jonathan.weber(at)student.uibk.ac.at
DAVID LANG, MSc
PhD student
David studies how higher cognitive processes — including self- and other-representation — are organised within the default mode network. He earned his BSc and MSc in psychology at the University of Innsbruck, where he also worked as a research assistant in the lab.
Projects: Self-Other Gradient — personal significance in the medial prefrontal cortex
AARON TOLONE, MSc
PhD student
Aaron studies how serious games and interactive digital experiences can support mental health and well-being. He completed his BSc and MSc in psychology at the University of Innsbruck.
Projects: ALIGN — romantic partner evaluation using neuroimaging
Room 2S17 | aaron.tolone(at)student.uibk.ac.at | +43 (0)512 507-56089
LUDWIG EBBERS, BSc
Research Assisstent
Ludwig supports the lab's research and day-to-day activities, including software and programming support, as a research assistant.
Projects: MADIER — motivational and affective determinants of interpersonal emotion regulation
EMANUEL DEAC, BSc
Research Assisstent
Emanuel works as a research assistant in the lab, where he supports data collection and analysis, develops and maintains our analysis code, and helps keep day-to-day research running.
Former Lab Members
Research Interns
Emanuel Deac
Henri Tietzen
Paula Groser
Veronika Erlacher
Paul Konrad
Ludwig Ebbers
Laura Marchesini
Aaron Tolone
Sonja Kittelberger
Marion Roth
Javen Rothhar Schneider
Jonathan Weber
Maximilian Boll
David Lang
Pia Steinemann
Anastasia Borisow
Anna Gmeiner
Valentin Lohmer
Vincent Wahl
Sebastian Caspar
Corinna Eber
Adam Schönstedt
Lisa-Marie J. Rese
Julia Stephanie Sulzmann
International Visiting Students
Sofia Amaoui (University of Granada)
Sama Rahnemayan (Tabriz University of Medical Sciences)
María Pérez González (University of Granada)
Reyhan Zelal Parlak (Istanbul Topkapi University)
Franziska Weimar (University of Tübingen)