News

On October 21, the Institute of Neurogenetics had the pleasure of welcoming three distinguished guests: Dr. Laurel Screven, Dr. Peter Heutink, and Dr. Natalia López González del Rey. All three are active members of the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2), a collaborative effort under the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative. GP2 is dedicated to […]

On July 24th, 2025, our team at the Institute of Neurogenetics traded lab coats for cowboy hats and set off for an unforgettable summer outing: the Karl May Festspiele in Bad Segeberg. The Festspiele is a celebration of classic Wild West tales—full of galloping horses, daring stunts, and the timeless friendship of Winnetou and Old

From June 30 to July 1, members of the planned Collaborative Research Center (CRC) gathered for their annual retreat and strategic planning meeting, setting a collaborative course for ongoing investigations into reduced penetrance in neurogenetic disorders. Reduced penetrance—where individuals carry pathogenic mutations without developing the associated disease—remains a central challenge in understanding the endogenous and

The Lübeck team, grateful to be part of the LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE) project, successfully completed a biosampling training course in Dundee.We would like to thank Esther, Dario, and the entire team at the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit for an unforgettable and productive time in Scotland.Learn more about LITE here:

Prof. Dr. Ana Westenberger presented her recent research and findings at the symposium devoted to dystonic and ataxic movement disorders, organized by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. https://www.sanu.ac.rs/en/symposium-movement-control/

On October 11, Carolin Gabbert successfully defended her PhD thesis, “Gene-Environment Modifiers in Parkinson’s Disease,” earning the highest distinction of summa cum laude. Her research explored the interplay of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors in determining susceptibility, age of onset, and clinical severity in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Congratulations to Dr. Gabbert on this outstanding

The Institute of Neurogenetics is pleased to announce that PD Dr. Sc. Ana Westenberger has been awarded a professorship in recognition of her outstanding achievements in research and teaching.  Congratulations to Professor Westenberger on this important accomplishment!

Medical student Jack Kenny from Queen Mary University of London recently completed a six-week elective at our Institute of Neurogenetics. During his time in Lübeck, he became involved in ongoing research and immersed himself in the academic and cultural life of our city. Below, Jack shares his reflections in his own words: “I have thoroughly

We are pleased to announce that Alexandra Rudnik, a doctoral researcher in medicine under the supervision of Prof. Katja Lohmann, has been awarded a doctoral scholarship from the university. Her research focuses on identifying new genetic causes of dystonias using exome, genome, and transcriptome sequencing. We congratulate Alexandra on this achievement and look forward to

The Institute of Neurogenetics is pleased to announce that Dr. Joanne Trinh has been awarded the Heisenberg Professorship in Neurogenomics by the German Research Foundation (DFG). After successful negotiations, she will officially take on the professorship starting February 2025. Congratulations to Professor Trinh on this significant achievement!