Ruhr University Bochum
Mental Health Research and Treatment-Center

Bochumer Fenster 3/05
Massenbergstraße 9-13
44787 Bochum
Germany

Tel.: +49 234 / 32-21502
Fax: +49 234 / 32-14369

E-Mail:
trace-group@rub.de

Twitter:
@TRACE_RUB

Marcella Woud is a Junior Professor of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) and the head of the TRACE research group, founded in 2021 via her Emmy Noether grant from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). Previously she had been working at RUB as a post-doctoral researcher with grant funding for her research from the DFG and the Daimler-Benz Stiftung. In 2015, Marcella received her license to work as a psychotherapist, trained in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and she still sees patients alongside her research activities. Marcella received her doctoral degree in 2014 from Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and was awarded the highest possible distinction for a Ph.D. in the Netherlands (cum laude). Her research focusses on the assessment and modification of dysfunctional associations, appraisals, and interpretations in the context of emotional psychopathology, with a specific interest in PTSD and anxiety disorders. This research combines both experimental and clinical studies. Further, Marcella examines potential mechanisms underlying dysfunctional cognitive processes, including neuronal and psychophysical markers. Her present research is funded by the Emmy Noether grant and a Collaborative Research Centres grant (Sonderforschungsbereich) from the DFG.

E-Mail: Marcella.Woud@rub.de

Antonia Döring is a second-year Ph.D. student in clinical psychology. As an undergraduate at Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, she studied the effect of emotion regulation on voluntary and involuntary memory under the supervision of Dr. Julie Niziurski. After graduating in 2020, she spent seven months working on the psycho-oncology ward at Niederrhein Clinic in Korschenbroich, Germany. She is in psychotherapist training since 2021 and works at St. Marien Hospital Eickel. Antonia’s current research concentrates on positive cognitive mechanisms and PTSD. Her research focuses on cognitive factors that mitigate or prevent the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms after the experience of a traumatic event.

E-Mail: andoe105@hhu.de

Marius Kunna is a second-year Ph.D. student in clinical psychology (supervised by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marcella Woud & Dr. Fanny Dietel) and part of the TRACE lab here at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). After receiving his B.Sc. from the RUB, he specialised in clinical psychology in his master’s programme. In 2021, he graduated from the RUB with an M.Sc. in psychology. In his master thesis he examined Joiner’s Interpersonal Theory of Suicide by investigating the role of interpersonal hopelessness in predicting suicidal ideation. His current research focusses on the underlying mechanisms of computerized interpretation training in the context of social anxiety. Marius is part of the DFG-funded research project “Mechanisms of interpretation biases in anxiety – bridging experimental investigation and clinical translation”.

E-Mail: Marius.Kunna@rub.de

Annalisa Lipp is a second-year Ph.D. student in clinical psychology (supervised by Prof. Dr. Armin Zlomuzica & Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marcella Woud) and part of the TRACE lab at Ruhr University Bochum. After receiving her B.Sc. from Maastricht University, she specialised in neuropsychology in her master's programme at Maastricht University. Under the supervision of Dr. Kathrin Cohen Kadosh at University of Surrey, she investigated the effect of neurofeedback on anxiety in adolescents for her master thesis. Annalisa’s current research focuses on disgust and fear extinction in patients with anxiety disorders and healthy controls and methods to improve extinction learning. Annalisa is part of the Collaborative Research Centre (Sonderforschungsbereich) “Extinction Learning”.

Beray Macit is a second-year Ph.D. student in clinical psychology and psychotherapy research in the TRACE lab at Ruhr University Bochum, supervised by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marcella Woud and Prof. Dr. Armin Zlomuzica. After receiving her B.Sc. in psychology at Trier University, she worked as a research intern at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, where she studied classical conditioning in the sexual behaviour of animals. Afterwards, Beray specialised in clinical psychology within the master programme of Trier University. In her master thesis, she examined the relevance of different cut-off scores in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to explain the interrelationships of anxiety and depression with outcomes within the waiting period for heart transplantation. Subsequently, she completed the psychotherapist training at Ruhr University Bochum and certified as Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist in April 2021 before starting her Ph.D. Currently, Beray’s research focusses on cognitive bias in acrophobic patients versus healthy controls, and the effect of cognitive bias modification contingency training on coping ability, therapy outcome, and generalization of therapeutic effects in acrophobic patients. She is part of the Collaborative Research Center 1280 “Extinction Learning”, which is funded by the German Research Foundation.

E-Mail: Beray.Macit@rub.de

Aleksandra E. Rupietta is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in clinical psychology. As an undergraduate at the Ruhr University Bochum she studied involuntary traumatic memories and their neuropsychological basis under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Nikolai Axmacher and Dr. Gerd Waldhauser. After graduation in 2018 she worked for five months at a neuropsychological rehabilitation centre. In January 2019 she started her PhD studies and focussed again on intrusive memories and trauma, however, from a more clinical perspective. Her main interest is understanding the development and maintenance of intrusive memories following trauma, as well as related symptoms and possible mechanisms influencing these symptoms. Concurrently, she started a psychotherapy training programme in April 2019 focused on Behavioural Psychotherapy and graduated in April 2022. Since May 2022 she works as a psychotherapist in an outpatient clinic. Her aim is to better understand the mechanisms underlying trauma related disorders and intrusive memories and to optimize interventions for PTSD patients as well as preventive programmes for traumatized individuals. 

E-Mail: Aleksandra.Rupietta@rub.de

Felix Würtz is a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology in the TRACE lab at Ruhr University Bochum, supervised by Jun.-Prof. Marcella Woud and Prof. Jürgen Margraf. Felix graduated from Ruhr University Bochum with an M.Sc. in clinical psychology in 2018. In his master thesis he investigated potential mechanisms of the effects of imagery-based interventions on depression under the supervision of Dr. Simon Blackwell. His current research focus is on the assessment and modification of interpretational- and appraisal processes in psychopathology, in particular in depression and PTSD. Outside academia Felix’ interest center mostly around nature, including rock climbing and diving. Felix is supported by a scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes.

E-Mail: Felix.Wuertz@rub.de

Laura Borris is a student assistant and part of the TRACE lab here at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). She completed her bachelor studies at RUB and graduated in 2023. Now she is in the first year of her Master's programme Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy there. Before starting her Bachelor programme in 2020, she pursued a career as a paramedic.

E-Mail: Laura.Borris@rub.de

Lilith Laflör is a student assistant for Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marcella Woud and a Bachelor's graduate from Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf. After her last position as an assistant in neuropsychological rehabilitation, she is now focusing on the clinical field of psychology. In her Bachelor's thesis, she focused on interpretation bias in the context of depressed mood and social anxiety.

E-Mail: Lilith.Lafloer@rub.de

Amelie Requardt is a student assistant under Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marcella Woud and part of the TRACE lab here at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). After receiving her B.Sc. from the RUB, she specialised in clinical psychology in her master’s programme. In her bachelor thesis she examined the genetic correlation and biological links of polygenic risk scores of the personality trait neuroticism and depression, while also examining the predictive power of the scores for these traits. She is currently responsible for the “Panic Project”, a study concentrating on the role of dysfunctional associations and interpretations in panic disorder.

E-Mail: Amelie.Requardt@rub.de

Svantje Schiemann is a student assistant of the TRACE lab. After completing her bachelor's degree at the Ruhr University Bochum, she is now specializing in clinical psychology and psychotherapy in her master's degree. In her bachelor thesis, at the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, she investigated the effects of different reflective conditions on the memory of a shameful experience. Currently, she is working on her master's thesis examining dropout and avoidance prevention for participants participating in a one-session treatment in a large group format.

E-Mail: Svantje.Schiemann@rub.de