Manuel A. Friese studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg, Oxford and University College London and received his MD in 2001. He completed his neurology training at the Universities of Tübingen and Hamburg. After his postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford from 2004––2008, he started his laboratory as an Emmy Noether research fellow of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft at the University of Hamburg. Since 2013 he has been consultant neurologist and Professor of Neuroimmunology at the University of Hamburg and since 2014 director of the INIMS. His laboratory focuses on inflammatory and neurodegenerative aspects of neuroimmunological and neuroinfectious diseases.

Christoph Heesen studied medicine at the Universities of Marburg and Kiel and received his MD in 1993. He completed his neurology training at the General Hospital in Bremen –Ost and the Univeristy Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. Since 1995 he is head of the MS outpatient unit and since 2004, he has been consultant neurologist. He was deputy director of the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Clinical MS Research (INIMS) from 2006–2010. In 2017 he became an endowed professor of clinical and rehabilitative MS research at the INIMS. His research focusses on behavioural interventions and strategies to enhance patient autonomy with a special interest in Ehealth interventions.

Sina C. Rosenkranz studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg, Berlin, Zürich, Pretoria and Campeche and started her residency in 2012 at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf by focusing on Neuroimmunology. After completing her MD thesis at the Institute of Neuropathology on Alzheimer‘s disease she enrolled in the MD/PhD programme of the UKE where she investigated the role of mitochondrial alterations during Multiple Sclerosis. Currently she is working on the molecular basis of neuroprotective behavioural interventions, such as exercise and hypoxia. She is one of four fellows of the Hertie Network of Excellence in Clinical Neuroscience.

As administrative assistant of the MS Outpatient Clinic, Marile Miara supports the clinical team realising clinical research projects, e.g. registration at ethical review committees and contracts. Accordingly, she organises correspondence and meetings and assists in all administrative aspects regarding personnel, clinical case management, financial and purchase matters.

As administrative assistant, Bärbel Reimers supports the director and researchers of the INIMS since 2014 in realising their research and clinical projects. In accordance she organises correspondence and meetings and assists in all administrative aspects regarding personnel, financial and purchase matters. Since 2019 she has been involved in the training of office management assistants and is also engaged in the UKE Network for Administrative and Office Management Assistants.

Manuel A. Friese studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg, Oxford and University College London and received his MD in 2001. He completed his neurology training at the Universities of Tübingen and Hamburg. After his postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford from 2004––2008, he started his laboratory as an Emmy Noether research fellow of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft at the University of Hamburg. Since 2013 he has been consultant neurologist and Professor of Neuroimmunology at the University of Hamburg and since 2014 director of the INIMS. His laboratory focuses on inflammatory and neurodegenerative aspects of neuroimmunological and neuroinfectious diseases.

As administrative assistant, Bärbel Reimers supports the director and researchers of the INIMS since 2014 in realising their research and clinical projects. In accordance she organises correspondence and meetings and assists in all administrative aspects regarding personnel, financial and purchase matters. Since 2019 she has been involved in the training of office management assistants and is also engaged in the UKE Network for Administrative and Office Management Assistants.

Maria Andres-Alonso studied Biology at the University of Navarre, Spain, before moving to London to pursue a Master’s degree in Neuroscience at University College London (UCL), UK. She obtained her PhD in 2017, during which she investigated the physiological role of amyloid-beta in neurotransmission. Her research interests subsequently expanded to the mechanisms that maintain proteostasis in neurons, with a particular focus on neuronal organelles and their role in synaptic communication. In October 2025, she joined INIMS to investigate the mechanisms underlying early synaptic dysfunction and network alterations in neuroinflammatory conditions. She is open to supervising and offering MD and Master’s thesis projects in these research areas.

Lars Binkle-Ladisch studied biology at the Freie Universität Berlin. For his PhD he joined the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Cognition (IMCC) at the Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg (ZMNH) and received his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in 2010. In 2011 he became a postdoctoral fellow at the IMCC studying the molecular function of the immediate early gene Arc/Arg3.1, a master regulator of synaptic plasticity and cognition. In 2017 he became a postdoctoral fellow at the INIMS. His main research focus is the TRPM4 CAN channel and its protective function in neurodegeneration. In cooperation with biotech companies, he advances the development of TRMP4 inhibiting drugs that can be used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Jan Broder Engler studied medicine at the Charité Berlin and the University of Córdoba in Spain. Fascinated by how immune responses are regulated, he joined the Group of Cell Autoimmunity at the German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin (DRFZ) and received his MD for his work on autoreactive T cells in lupus in 2010. For gaining deeper mechanistic understanding of how immune tolerance can be restored, he joined the INIMS in 2011 and received his PhD of Human Biology in 2015 and the Dr. Martini Prize 2018 for his work on mechanisms of pregnancy-induced immune tolerance. Driven to identify genuine neuroprotective treatment strategies, Broder switched to neurobiology and systems biology to understand how neurons cope with inflammation. In 2020 he became a fellow in the Hertie Network of Excellence in Clinical Neuroscience and in 2021 a Senior Scientist at the INIMS. Currently, Broder explores genetic and epigenetic treatment strategies to empower neurons to fight back inflammation.

Jana Sonner studied Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Heidelberg until 2014 and completed her Ph. D. studies in 2017. From 2014 to 2019 she worked in the Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumor Immunology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, where she dissected the role of tryptophan metabolism in regulating immune responses in experimental models of multiple sclerosis and glioma. In March 2019 she joined the INIMS as a postdoctoral scientist and is now working on the phenomenon of natural immune tolerance induction during pregnancy, which modulates disease activity in autoimmune neuroinflammation. She is especially interested in how neurons regulate auto-inflammatory T cells in response to peripheral cues. Her research is funded by the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation and the Werner Otto Foundation.

Anne Willing studied biology and biomedical sciences at the University of Münster and the transnational University Limburg (Netherlands/ Belgium). From 2009 to 2013 she completed her PhD study characterizing IL-17 producing CD8+ T cells in multiple sclerosis at the INIMS. Her main research focus is T cell and particularly MAIT cell biology in the context of immunological pathomechanisms of multiple sclerosis. In 2021 she received DFG funding to decipher the role of MAIT cells in MS and its mouse model and became Senior Scientist. In addition to her own research activities, she is Scientific Coordinator at the INIMS since 2017 supporting co-operative research projects and teaching activities, as well as co-ordinating biobanking at the INIMS.

Lukas C. Bal studied medicine at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and completed clinical internships in Vienna, the University Hospital Heidelberg, University Hospital Rechts der Isar (Munich), and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (London, UK). He also studied neurodegenerative diseases at Yale Medical School in the Lab of Prof. Strittmatter (New Haven, USA). Conducting his MD thesis at the INIMS (Hamburg, Germany), he explored how inflammatory neuronal stress leads to elevated VGF levels and its influence on neuronal demise in multiple sclerosis. In August 2023, he began his residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). Continuing his research at the INIMS, he is dedicated to identifying novel therapeutic approaches for mitigating neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis. During his studies, he received scholarships from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation, the Hertie Foundation, and funding from the excellence initiative of the University of Hamburg for student research groups.

Felix Fischbach studied medicine at the Ludwig-Maximilian’s University of Munich (LMU). Fascinated by the complex interactions of glial cells and neurons in a neuroinflammatory condition he carried out his MD thesis in the Department of Neuroanatomy in Munich investigating oligodendroglial stress responses in inflammatory and metabolic animal models of Multiple Sclerosis. In April 2020 he started his residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). Since the middle of 2021, he works as a postdoctoral scientist at the INIMS. He continued his research at the INIMS and focusses on cellular stress responses of neurons in an inflammatory environment, especially those involving protein accumulation. Additionally, he is interested in neurodegeneration not being driven by inflammation and the associated glial responses.

Henrike Grosshans studied medicine at the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg and completed clinical traineeships at Yale New Haven Hospital, the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital in Munich and in Zurich. Curious about basic science and intracellular calcium signaling, she spent one year at Yale University (New Haven, USA) as a research fellow in Professor Ehrlich´s laboratory. For her MD thesis, she investigated the role of the interferon-stimulated gene Apolipoprotein L6 in mediating viral defense and cell death at the INIMS (Hamburg, Germany). During her studies she was a scholar of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. In 2023, she began her residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). As a clinician scientist at the INIMS she is eager to further investigate neuronal defense mechanisms against viral infections and to contribute to a better understanding of inflammation-induced neurodegeneration.  

Alexandros Hadjilaou studied medicine at the University of Leipzig. From 2012 to 2014 he worked on the immunology of the dengue fever at the Virology Department of the University of Leipzig and of the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) under the supervision of Christian Jassoy and Eva Harris respectively. His work, which culminated in his MD thesis in 2017, focused on developing the Quad-Color FluoroSpot (QCF) to characterise the antibody repertoire of B cells generated following a dengue virus (DENV) infection. Driven by the fascinating and captivating complexity of neurological diseases, which interests him to the same extent as infectious diseases, he is currently pursuing his residency in clinical neurology at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). To merge his interests in clinical medicine and biomedical research, he works as a postdoctoral scientist at the INIMS and enrols in the MD/PhD programme. In his PhD thesis, he aims to broaden our understanding of the role of the brains endothelium in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria. He is also interested in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of meningoencephalitides of infectious or unknown origin.

Hannah Luna Hagemeyer studied medicine at the University of Hamburg, Bern, Cape Town, and La Laguna and started her residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) in 2025. After her doctoral thesis at the INIMS about the interferon-stimulated gene Apolipoprotein L6 in neuroinflammation, she is currently investigating viral infections in the context of autoimmunity to elucidate the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. Her overarching goal is to broaden the understanding of the coevolution of pathogens and humans and its decisive effect on emerging autoimmune diseases. During her studies, she received scholarships from the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation, HamburGlobal Fellowship, Rolfing Foundation Hamburg and funding from the excellence initiative of the University of Hamburg for student research groups.

As a strong believer in the transformational power of digitalisation, Max Kaufmann investigates molecular disease mechanisms of multiple sclerosis using a high-throughput, data-driven approach. By treating patients as a physician and observing the current limitations of available medicines first-hand, he draws great motivation to extend beyond these boundaries with his research. Dr. Kaufmann’s scientific work has been funded by the German Cancer Aid (Mildred Scheel Scholarship), the Stifterverband (MS Clinician Scientist Programme) and the German Research Foundation (Walter Benjamin Programme). He is a postdoctoral scientist at the INIMS since 2016 in the group of Prof. Friese and has close ties to the Oxford Centre for Neuroinflammation (Prof. Fugger), where he worked as a visiting postdoc in 2021.

Francesco Laserra studied Medicine and Surgery at Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan, Italy. Drawn by the complexity and social impact of multiple sclerosis, he attended the Department of Neurology at San Raffaele Hospital, where he completed his MD thesis, focused on the role of environmental factors in the progression of subjects with Radiologically Isolated Syndrome (RIS) to multiple sclerosis. Motivated by a strong interest in basic science, he completed an internship in 2024 at the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS), where he investigated neuronal responses to viral infections. Since 2025, he has been working as a Clinician Scientist at INIMS within the DFG-funded research group 5705 “Neuroflame”, studying how protein production in distinct neuronal compartments changes in response to inflammatory stimuli.

Christina Mayer obtained her medical degree from the University of Heidelberg and trained at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and University College London. Fascinated by the fine-tuned interplay between immune cells and neurons, she carried out her MD thesis in the Department of Neurology in Heidelberg investigating neurodegenerative alterations in retinal ganglion cells during onset of autoimmune optic neuritis in an animal model of Multiple Sclerosis. She started her residency in the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf in 2019. Since the beginning of 2020, she works as a postdoctoral scientist at the INIMS and enrols in the Clinician-Scientist in Multiple Sclerosis research programme. Her research will focus on cell-type specific susceptibility for inflammation-induced neurodegeneration using the retina as a model system with good in vivo accessibility.

Lena Kristina Pfeffer studied medicine at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and trained at the University of Zurich (UZH) and at the University College London (UCL). She carried out her MD thesis at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, LMU) studying the role of autoantibodies in Multiple Sclerosis. In 2020, she began her residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). Since November 2021, she works as a postdoctoral scientist at the INIMS and is enrolled in the Clinician Scientist Program of the DFG Research Unit 5068 “Sex differences in immunity“. Her research focuses on sex differences in T-cell-mediated autoimmunity in Multiple Sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Additionally, she is interested in the pathophysiology and treatment of Autoimmune Encephalitis and contributes to the German Network for Research on Autoimmune Encephalitis (GENERATE).

Charlotte Schubert studied medicine at the Universities of Freiburg im Breisgau, Marseille and Paris. Fascinated by the complexity of neurobiology she carried out her thesis on neuroplasticity through 2-Photon long-term in vivo imaging in a model of epilepsy. In 2017 she started her residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) with a wide clinical interest in neuroimmunology, neurodegeneration and epilepsy. In 2018 she became a research fellow at the INIMS and joined the Collaborative Research Center “Adenine Nucleotides in Immunity and Inflammation” (CRC 1328). Her research focuses on pathophysiological mechanisms that drive inflammation-induced neurodegeneration in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and Multiple Sclerosis in particular in the olfactory bulb and investigates possible neuroprotective treatment strategies via purinergic signaling.

Marcel S. Woo studied medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Germany and McGill University, Canada. He is a resident physician at the Department of Neurology, UKE, postdoctoral researcher at the INIMS, UKE and associated researcher at the Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University, Canada. His main interests are the identification of new strategies to treat, monitor and detect cell death mechanisms in MS and other neurodegenerative diseases. He is supported by the Elese-Kröner-Fresenius Foundation, and Joachim-Herz-Foundation, and he is Co-PI in a project of the "Ferroptosis" DFG priority program that investigates neuronal lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis in CNS inflammation. A full list of publications can be found at ORCID 0000-0002-1306-2708 or google scholar.

I have studied the 'International master: from fundamental molecular biosciences to biotherapies ' at Sorbonne Universite - Pierre et Marie-Curie, gratuating in June 2021. During my master, I first investigated stem cells regeneration in an inflammatory context (Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisboa). Further on, I did my master thesis looking at the role of a hematopoietic marker in T-cells in Acute Lymphoid Leukemia (APHP Saint-Antoine Hospital Paris, Sorbonne Universite). As I have a great interest in sex and gender-sensitive biomedical research, I have decided to pursue a PhD focusing on women's health and started at the INIMS in October 2022. I will be focusing on the investigation of T-cell function and their modulation by pregnancy and its implications for the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis and its animal model (Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis: EAE). I would also like to learn to conduct biomedical research taking into account sex and gender in experiments set-up and data analysis. On the other hand, I want to develop a program to promote and empower women scientists in their careers, and help with intersectionality issues in research.

Aneta Kolakowska studied at Gdansk University of Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, where in 2022 she completed her Master’s degree in the field of Molecular Biotechnology. During that time, she was enrolled in different projects focusing on the infection and virulence of various species of fungi from genus Aspergillus and Candida. In 2022 she also participated in a 1-year internship at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Department of Aging and Metabolism, where she worked on identifying and characterizing nutritional treatment strategies for multiple sclerosis. In October 2023 she joined the INIMS as a PhD student. Her project will focus on natriuretic peptides and their role in neuroinflammation in the context of multiple sclerosis.

K. Michel-J. Mattern studied Biology and Neuroscience at the Universities of Freiburg and Copenhagen. During his Master thesis, he investigated the transcriptional regulation of the circadian neuroendocrine system. He then joined the INIMS as a research assistant and attended bioinformatics lectures at the University of Hamburg. Michel is especially interested in understanding the molecular interactions that drive neurodegeneration to find potential targets for novel treatments. In October 2024, he began his PhD project at the INIMS, where he investigates the contribution of programmed cell death pathways to inflammation-induced neurodegeneration.

Maria Ramos-Moreso studied Neurochemistry and Molecular Neurobiology at Stockholm University. In 2025, she completed her master’s thesis at the Karolinska Institute, where she investigated how epigenetic changes in multiple sclerosis patients could be used for diagnostic purposes. Fascinated by the complex interplay between the nervous and immune systems, she joined the Institute for Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS) in September 2025 as a PhD student. Her research focuses on understanding how inflammation in the central nervous system influences the neuronal epigenetic landscape.

Victoria Telmon studied Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Hamburg and completed her master's degree in October 2024. During this time she established an IPSC derived model to study inflammatory neurodegeneration. She started her PhD at the INIMS in January 2025 where she will focus on epigenetic control of neurogenesis and neuronal loss in neuroinflammation.

Maximilian Anschlag is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). He started his MD thesis at the INIMS in October 2022 and will investigate the formation and composition of neurotoxic aggregates of the presynaptic protein Bassoon in multiple sclerosis.

Phaidon Christodoulou is a medical student at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). He started his MD thesis at the INIMS in October 2022 and aims to understand the mechanisms that drive T-cell mediated immunopathology in cerebral malaria.

Farzeen Foiz is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). In July 2024 he began his MD thesis at the INIMS investigating the use of therapeutic antibody fragments for neuronal immunomodulation and their potential neuroprotective effects in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

Ricardo Lopes Fonseca is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). He started his MD thesis at the INIMS in April 2021 and will investigate the role of purinergic signaling and the potential neuroprotective effects in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

Darwin Nagel is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg (UKE). Prior to studying medicine, he worked in the computer science field and is now eager to bring that knowledge into medical research. Starting his work in academia, he visited the Center for translational and computational neuroimmunology (CTCN) at the Columbia University in New York for 4 months in 2023 as a visiting scholar. He then started his MD thesis at the INIMS in October 2023, where he is investigating accelerated aging – Inflammaging – in multiple sclerosis.

Julia von Grebmer is a medical student at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). She started her MD thesis at the INIMS in October 2022 and is investigating the role of adenosine kinase (ADK) and its isoforms in modulating inflammation-induced neurodegeneration.  

Simone Bauer has been working in the INIMS lab since 2011 as a technical assistant, where she is involved in several neurobiological and immunological projects. Besides genotyping and lab organization she is trained in the preparation of immune cells from different tissues including the inflamed CNS, isolation and culture of bone marrow derived dendritic cells, setup of stainings for flow cytometry and various primary cell culture systems.

Nina Meurs joined the INIMS in 2011 as a technical assistant in the Friese lab, and since she is involved in different neurobiological and immunological projects. Besides lab organization and mouse preparations, such as ZNS, lymph nodes or spleen preparations, her main area of expertise comprises 10X single cell experiments, flow cytometry including cell sorting as well as processing of human blood samples. Furthermore, she is responsible for the organisation and database of the internal biobank.

Stefanie Reinhardt has been working in the INIMS laboratory since 2007 as a technical assistant. Furthermore, she is a trained study nurse involved in Investigator Initiated Trials conducted by the multiple sclerosis outpatient clinic, i.e. investigating therapeutic effects of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or boswellia serrata in multiple sclerosis.

Vanessa Vieira joined the INIMS lab in 2017 as a technical assistant. In addition to lab organization and the processing of blood samples for the Biobank she has also been involved in several neurological projects. Her expertise lies in mouse CNS preparations and in methods such as BacTRAP and 10X single cell experiments.

Sina C. Rosenkranz studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg, Berlin, Zürich, Pretoria and Campeche and started her residency in 2012 at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf by focusing on Neuroimmunology. After completing her MD thesis at the Institute of Neuropathology on Alzheimer‘s disease she enrolled in the MD/PhD programme of the UKE where she investigated the role of mitochondrial alterations during Multiple Sclerosis. Currently she is working on the molecular basis of neuroprotective behavioural interventions, such as exercise and hypoxia. She is one of four fellows of the Hertie Network of Excellence in Clinical Neuroscience.

Kanchan Dulal studied Bioengineering and obtained her Master’s degree in Immunobiology from the University of Bonn. She completed her bachelor’s thesis project at the University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Experimental Neurosurgery, where she characterized the brain tumor microenvironment in meningioma and glioblastoma using multi-round multiplex tissue immunofluorescence microscopy. During her master’s program, she studied regulatory T cell differentiation and function in chronic tissue inflammation at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), with a focus on multiple sclerosis. She completed her master’s thesis at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, investigating the role of endothelial cells in chronic fatigue syndrome observed in post-COVID patients and patients with ME/CFS. In February 2026, she joined INIMS as a PhD student and aims to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of exercise in MS

Freya Hesse is a medical student at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). As a member of the research group of Dr. Sina Rosenkranz(INIMS), she is currently conducting the experimental part of her MD thesis (as of September 2025) in the Wrann Lab at the Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard Medical School, Boston, under the supervision of Prof. Christiane Wrann. Since April 2025, she has been a fellow of the Hertie Foundation’s medMS doctoral program. Her doctoral research investigates the neuroprotective effects of the exerciseinduced myokine irisin with regard to its potential as a novel therapeutic approach in multiple sclerosis.

Daniela Silva studied Biochemistry at the University of Porto, and completed her master ‘s degree in Neurobiology at the University of Porto, Faculty of Medicine in 2022. During her degrees she enrolled in different projects, such as searching for miRNAs as potential biomarkers for MS and searching for potential beneficial effects of different repurposed drugs on preterm hypoxia ischemia injury. In July 2023 she joined the INIMS as a PhD student and aims to investigate the role of neuroinflammation on epigenetic changes upon neurogenesis and possible therapeutic approaches to improve MS outcomes.

Lena Sophie Niehoff is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). She started her MD thesis at the INIMS in April 2022 and will investigate the changes in neurogenesis in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and possible therapeutic approaches to improve the development of new neurons in the adult brain.

Christoph Heesen studied medicine at the Universities of Marburg and Kiel and received his MD in 1993. He completed his neurology training at the General Hospital in Bremen –Ost and the Univeristy Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. Since 1995 he is head of the MS outpatient unit and since 2004, he has been consultant neurologist. He was deputy director of the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Clinical MS Research (INIMS) from 2006–2010. In 2017 he became an endowed professor of clinical and rehabilitative MS research at the INIMS. His research focusses on behavioural interventions and strategies to enhance patient autonomy with a special interest in Ehealth interventions.

Stefan Gold studied psychology in Giessen and Hamburg and received his PhD from the University of Hamburg in 2003. He completed postdoctoral training in neuroimaging at New York University (NYU) and in neuroimmunology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Stefan is a guest scientist at the INIMS and Heisenberg Professor of Neuropsychiatry at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. He is interested in neuro-endocrine-immune regulation and its role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and psychiatric disorders. His lab employs techniques from molecular biology, immunology, endocrinology, neuroimaging, and neuropsychology to study biological mechanisms of disease progression and neuropsychiatric symptoms in MS and other chronic disorders.

As administrative assistant of the MS Outpatient Clinic, Marile Miara supports the clinical team realising clinical research projects, e.g. registration at ethical review committees and contracts. Accordingly, she organises correspondence and meetings and assists in all administrative aspects regarding personnel, clinical case management, financial and purchase matters.

Jana Pöttgen studied psychology at the University of Hamburg and received her diploma in 2009. Since 2006 she is engaged in neuropsychological assessments and neuropsychiatric research in multiple sclerosis at the MS Day Hospital and INIMS. She is interested in cognitive behavioral interventions in multiple sclerosis and the development and validation of neuropsychiatric outcome parameter. She received her PhD on “Metacognitive and allday live relevant training for people with MS – Development and pilot study of a cognitive program to treat neuropsychiatric impairment in MS”. She currently develops training programs to treat specific neuropsychiatric impairment in multiple sclerosis (e.g. depression, fatigue, social cognition), and is involved in the development and research of online treatment of neuropsychiatric domains in multiple sclerosis as depression but also of fatigue.

Nicole Krause studied Health Sciences (M.Sc.) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) and received her master‘s degree in 2018. After her studies, she was working as a research assistant at the HAW Hamburg. She joined the Heesen Group at the INIMS in October 2018 and completed her PhD in 2023. In her thesis, she examined a digital lifestyle management application for health behaviour change in persons with early MS. Her current research focus is on health behaviours and behaviour change interventions in MS, with a special focus on physical activity.

Karin Riemann-Lorenz studied nutritional sciences in Gießen and Mönchengladbach and got her diploma in 1991. She has been working as a freelance nutritionist, in adult education and as a nutrition expert for a consumer organization. In addition to her professional activity, she has completed master's degrees in Adult Education and Public Health. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Heesen Group at the INIMS and completed her PhD about lifestyle management for persons with MS in 2020. Her research focus is on the potential influence of health behaviours on MS disease course and the development of evidence-based patient information and behaviour change interventions for persons with MS.

Lucie de Azevedo studied medicine at the Justus-Liebig-University Gießen and Marburg and at the University of McGill in Montreal, Canada. She performed her doctoral thesis on the experimental evaluation and optimization of osteosynthesis procedures in sheep models. After receiving her medical license, her scientific interest shifted to neuroimmunological diseases. In her further specialization, she ultimately focused on multiple sclerosis. As part of her master's degree in Multiple Sclerosis at the Carl Gustav Carus University Dresden, she dealt with immunological diagnostics and therapy monitoring in MS patients and wrote her master's thesis on the correlation of diagnostic test procedures with JCV antibody indices. Since 2025 she works as a clinician at the MS outpatient clinic and day clinic.

Vivien Häußler studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg and Trondheim and started her residency in 2013 at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. She completed her MD thesis in the area of postischaemic inflammation and first focused on basic science in the context of ischaemic stroke. Her clinical interests lie in the field of neuroimmunology and in 2018 she joined the INIMS becoming a clinical research fellow as well as working in the MS day hospital and outpatient clinic. Her scientific aims address the natural history of MS and NMO with a special focus on prognostic criteria and treatment response and she is in charge of clinical MS cohorts and the German NMO register NEMOS at our center.

Laura Hofner studied medicine at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) and started her residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) in 2024. For her MD thesis, she investigated the management of depressive disorders in primary care at the Department of General Practice in Würzburg. During her studies she was funded by the German Academic Scholarship Foundation and the Max Weber Program. As a clinician scientist in Prof Heesen’s research team, she transfers the group’s expertise in evidence-based medicine, patient information and shared decision-making to stroke patients.

Insa Schiffmann studied Medicine at the University of Freiburg and Sevilla and started her residency in 2017 at the MS day hospital and outpatient clinic of the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf (UKE). In her thesis she examined the effects of epigenetic drugs on histone modifications in Non-small cell lung cancer. She is a member of the research team of Prof. Heesen focusing on evidence-based medicine and patient information in MS.

Margarethe Daumen has been working as a study coordinator at the MS day clinic since March 2025. With more than 30 years of clinical experience, she is primarily responsible for the eRECLAIM stem cell project.

Since 2008 Kristina Grentzenberg has been working in the multiple sclerosis day clinic. She is a qualified nurse for intensive care and a study nurse. She coordinates the day clinic and is involved in patient education programmes, specifically the DECIMS (Decision Coach in MS)-project.

Since 1998 Andrea has been working at the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic and was involved in setting up the structures of the clinic. She is a qualified nurse and as a study nurse is responsible for most of the multicenter phase 2 and 3 clinical trials.

Stephanie Lau studied education at the University of Cologne. After her degree she completed a journalism traineeship and worked as a journalist for several TV stations. Since 2010, she has been working in the MS Outpatient Clinic, mainly in charge of neuropsychiatric assesments and the development and realisation of educational research projects for MS patients. In addition, she councels patients in the context of our DECIMS-Project (Decision Coaching in MS).

Since December 2022 Masoumeh Bonari is working at the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic. Her main function is the admission of patients and to enter patient-related data into the Hospital System. She maintains the MS Patient Database and is responsible for the correspondence between doctors and patients.

Since December 2024 Tim Ehrhardt is working at the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic. His main function is the admission of patients and to enter patient-related data into the Hospital System. He maintains the MS Patient Database and is responsible for the correspondence between doctors and patients.

Since 2009 Sabine Nagel has been working in the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic. She is a qualified administrative assistant in public service. Her main function is the admission of patients and to enter patient-related data into the hospital system. She also coordinates the day clinic.