Research focus: Sleep and Development
My research is centered on understanding the dynamic interplay between sleep and brain development and on developing novel technologies to measure and modulate these processes. Leveraging expertise in sleep physiology, signal processing, and high-density electroencephalography (EEG), I integrate multimodal neuroimaging approaches, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with innovative neuromodulation techniques such as closed-loop auditory stimulation and temporal interference stimulation. Together, these methods provide new opportunities to investigate the mechanisms and functions of sleep across development and in clinical populations.
Academic CV
09.2016 – present: Full Professor (Huber SLEEP Lab), Children’s Hospital and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
07.2013 – 08.2016: Research group leader, Children’s Hospital and Clinics for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
07.2007 – 06.2013: Assistant Professor (SNSF), Children’s Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
04.2002 – 06.2007: Research Assistant in the group of Drs. G. Tononi and C. Cirelli, Psychiatry Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
01.2001 – 03.2002: Research Assistant in the group of Drs. A.A. Borbély and I. Tobler, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
12.1996 – 12.2000: Ph.D. Student in the group of Drs. A.A. Borbély and I. Tobler, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Funding & Prizes: (selection)
08.2021 – 07.2026: StimuLOOP- Precision sensorimotor neurorehabilitation through personalized stimulation loops. LOOP Zurich grant. Co-applicants: Prof. C. Baumann, Prof. A. Luft, Prof. B. Taylor, Prof. R. Gassert, Prof. J. Vogt.
11.2018 – 10.2024: Manipulating cortical synchronization by means of closed-loop acoustic stimulation during sleep – method optimization and proof of concept study in childhood epilepsy. Swiss National Science Foundation.
04.2018 – 03.2021: SleepLoop- mobile sleep enhancement technologies for better health and life. Hochschulmedizin Zurich flagship grant. Co-applicants: Prof. C. Baumann, Prof. W. Karlen.
09.2015 – 08.2018: Sleep as a model to understand and manipulate cortical activity in order to promote neuroplasticity and functional recovery after stroke. Swiss National Science Foundation Sinergia Grant. Co-applicants: Prof. C. Bassetti, Prof. A. Adamantidis, Prof. M. Massimini.
09.2014 – 08.2017: Exploring diurnal changes in markers of cortical plasticity using multimodal imaging in healthy children and adolescents and in patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Swiss National Science Foundation.
10.2012 – 09.2018: Sleep and health. Clinical Research Priority Program of the University of Zurich. Co-applicants: PD. C. Baumann, Prof. HP. Landolt, Prof. S. Brown, Prof. E. Seifritz, Prof. M. Kohler.
07.2011 – 06.2013: Mapping sensitive periods of cortical development. Professorship prolongation of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
03.2010 – 12.2012: Adolescence: a sensitive period for cortical development. EU Mundus Joint Doctoral Program. Partner PI: Prof. E. Van Someren, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam.
07.2007 – 06.2011: Sleep and brain plasticity during development. Professorship of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
04.2003 – 03.2005: Investigating the mechanisms of sleep homeostasis: A multi-species approach. Fellowship for Advanced Researchers of the Swiss Foundation for Grants in Biology and Medicine.
04.2002 – 03.2003: Investigating local sleep homeostasis in the human brain with high resolution EEG, transcranial magnetic stimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Fellowship for Prospective Researchers of the Swiss National Science Foundation.