Sofia Eickhoff, MSc

Education
2016 – 2019 BSc, Health Psychology and Clinical Psychology, SR University Heidelberg (Germany)
2019 – 2021 MSc, Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Lübeck (Germany)
2021 – present  PhD, Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Lübeck (Germany)

Professional Experience
2018 Addiction Counselor, Psychosocial counseling for heroin addiction, ASB Bonn/Rhein-Sieg/Eifel e.V. (Germany)
2019 Research Assistant, S:TEP (Substance-Related and Related Disorders: Treatment, Epidemiology, and Prevention), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Centre of Integrative Psychiatry, Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital (Germany)
2020 – 2021 International Research Internship and Master’s Thesis, Cognitive Neuroscience of Schizophrenia Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia (Canada)
2021 – present Clinician Scientist, Baltic Early Intervention Service (BEATS), University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)

Sofia Eickhoff’s research, in the context of her PhD, focuses on clinical neuroscience. Her main focus is on structural and functional brain abnormalities that underly symptoms of schizophrenia.

While she is currently investigating dysfunctions of the cholingeric system, which might provide evidence for the development of new pharmacological treatment options, her work on investigating the activity of functional brain networks during a specific cognitive task might broaden the understanding of schizophrenia symptoms on a network level, which is crucial for the development of promising treatment options such as neuromodulation. For this approach she is using sMRI and fMRI during both resting and cognitive task conditions.

Additionally, she is interested in early detection and intervention of psychotic disorders as well as novel treatment options such as metacognitive training in a gamified context.

Keywords: schizophrenia, neuroimaging, task-based and resting-state fMRI, cognitive functions, symptoms

1. 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

Sofia Eickhoff has been involved in the treatment of patients in several areas of clinical psychology including addiction, schizophrenia, and psychosis.

Scholarships
PROMOS (DAAD) student scholarship for a study visit abroad in the context of the final thesis  (2020 – 2021)

Awards
Best Poster Award, 5th Annual Research Day – Brain, Behaviour & Development, 2021, University of British Columbia (Canada)