On Wednesday, the 25th of July 2018, Judith succesfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "The ontogenesis of asymmetry in humans – a genetic and epigenetic perspective". Judith impressed the comitee and other visitors of her Defense with a strong, theory-driven presentation of the papers on the genetics and epigenetics of hemispheric asymmetries she had published in her Phd. In true pioneer fashion, she was one of the first researchers to establish epigentic research in hemispheric asymmetries in humans. During the subsequent discussion, Judith was able to answer even the most difficult questions with ease. Due to the excellence of both her written thesis and her thesis defense , the comitee awarded her the rarely given "Summa cum laude" - the highest honor for a PhD thesis in Germany. Congratulations Judith! Your supervisors and the rest of the lab are very proud of you!