On Friday, the 17th of December 2021, Gesa successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "How acute stress modulates hemispheric asymmetries: Investigating the role of endocrinological and affective parameters". 

On Friday, the 17th of December 2021, Gesa successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "How acute stress modulates hemispheric asymmetries: Investigating the role of endocrinological and affective parameters". Gesa's PhD was focused on the interplay between stress and hemispheric asymmetries and she was fittingly co-supervised by Sebastian Ocklenburg (Biopsychology) and Oliver Wolf (Cognitive Psychology). Gesa used EEG and behavioral experiments to investigate how psycho-social stress and cortisol affect hemispheric asymmetries and interhemispheric integration in healthy volunteers. Her PhD thesis included an impressive 8 manuscripts, including empirical studies, meta-analyses and a theoretical review paper that significantly advances our understanding how stress affects hemispheric asymmetries. The committee members (Oliver Wolf, Sebastian Ocklenburg, Nikolai Axmacher, Robert Kumsta) were so impressed that they awarded Gesa a summa cum laude ("with highest honors") that only very few PhD students achieve.
Congratulations Gesa! We all are very proud of you!