Sofia Eickhoff, MSc
Translational Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck
- Clinician Scientist | Psychologist MSc
- 0000-0001-7039-8155
- ResearchGate Profile
Clinician Scientist and Psychological Lead (BEATS – Baltic Early Treatment Service; Early Detection and Intervention in Psychosis), Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Centre for Integrative Psychiatry, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany
Doctoral Researcher, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Germany
Affiliated Doctoral Researcher, Cognitive Neuroscience of Schizophrenia Laboratory, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Education
2021 – present
PhD in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Lübeck, Germany
2018 – 2021
M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Lübeck, Germany
Exchange semester, University of Barcelona, Spain (2020)
2013 – 2016
B.Sc. in Health Psychology and Clinical Psychology, SRH University Heidelberg, Germany
Clinical training
2022 – present
Postgraduate training in psychodynamic psychotherapy (advanced stage), Institute for Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany (2022–2024); North German Center for Psychotherapy Training, Lübeck, Germany (since 2024)
Professional Experience
2022 – present
Clinician Scientist and Clinical Psychologist (Psychological Lead since 2025), BEATS – Baltic Early Treatment Service; Early Detection and Intervention in Psychosis, Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Centre for Integrative Psychiatry, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany
2024 – 2025
Clinical Psychologist, Inpatient Psychotherapy Unit (transdiagnostic), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Centre for Integrative Psychiatry, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany
2023
Visiting Researcher, Cognitive Neuroscience of Schizophrenia Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
2020 – 2021
Research Intern and Master’s Thesis, Cognitive Neuroscience of Schizophrenia Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
2019
Research Assistant, S:TEP (Substance-Related and Related Disorders: Treatment, Epidemiology, and Prevention), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Centre for Integrative Psychiatry, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany
2018
Addiction Counselor, Psychosocial Support in Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST), ASB Bonn/Rhein-Sieg/Eifel e.V., Bonn, Germany
2015
Clinical Psychology Intern, Inpatient Psychosomatic Rehabilitation, HESCURO Klinik Regina, Bad Kissingen, Germany
Sofia Eickhoffs’ research focuses on early detection and intervention in psychosis, particularly clinical high-risk states, with the aim of improving prevention and outcomes in severe mental disorders. She integrates neuroimaging approaches, including resting-state and task-based fMRI, with clinical and longitudinal data to investigate neural mechanisms underlying symptom dimensions and disease progression. In addition, her work incorporates psychotherapy research to bridge neurobiological findings and targeted clinical interventions.
Keywords: psychosis, early detection, clinical high risk, neuroimaging, fMRI, psychotherapy, prevention
Bommhardt, T., Peschl, J., Schultze-Lutter, F., Koutsouleris, N., Meisenzahl, E., Köberlein-Neu, J., & CARE Study Group (2025). Enhancing early detection and treatment of psychosis in Germany: a protocol for the health economic evaluation of an artificial intelligence-guided complex intervention. BMJ open, 15(6), e103151. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-103151
Franzen, L., Eickhoff, S., Andreou, C., Delis, I., Erb, J., Kreitewolf, J., Lange, C., Lencer, R., Schmitt, L.-M., Schewe, H., Kloosterman, N., Tune, S., Borgwardt, S., & Obleser, J. (2025, July 3). Prior information shapes perceptual evidence accumulation dynamics differentially in psychosis. doi: 10.1101/2025.07.03.662942v1
Mineur, L., Horstmann, S., Arslan, B., Andreou, C., Heide, M., Eickhoff, S., Avram, M., Berg, K., Hedelt, K. S., Franzen, L., Buschmann, F., Schröpfer, F., Rogg, H. V., Zurowski, B., Handels, H., Borgwardt, S., & Korda, A. (2025). Neutral sentiment on patient’s speech can predict the depressive symptom severity transdiagnostically. Journal of affective disorders, 391, 119990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.119990
Andreou, C., Eickhoff, S., Heide, M., de Bock, R., Obleser, J., & Borgwardt, S. (2023). Predictors of transition in patients with clinical high risk for psychosis: an umbrella review. Translational psychiatry, 13(1), 286. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02586-0
Eickhoff S., Franzen L., Korda A., Rogg H., Trulley V.-N., Borgwardt S., & Avram M. (2022). The basal forebrain cholinergic nuclei and their relevance to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 1437. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.909961
Awards
Early Career Award for Promising Contributions to Schizophrenia Research, Robert Sommer Research Society, Gießen International Schizophrenia Symposium (GISS), Germany, 2023
Best Poster Award, 5th Annual Research Day – Brain, Behaviour & Development, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2021
Scholarships
PROMOS (DAAD) Scholarship for an international research stay, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2020–2021
Academic presentations
Oral presentation on basal forebrain connectivity and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) Conference, Toronto, Canada, 2023