Public Hybrid Lecture

The aging of our brain is governed by fundamental mechanisms. Nevertheless, there is considerable variability in how the brain ages in individual people. Environmental and lifestyle factors influence these processes alongside genetic determinants. These patterns can be identified in population studies using modern analytical methods such as machine learning. Building on this, personalized predictive models (digital brain twins) are intended to enable preventive approaches to maintaining brain health.

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Dr. Svenja Caspers (University of Düsseldorf and Jülich Research Centre, Department of Systems Neuroscience))

Svenja Caspers is a professor of anatomy and director of the Institute of Anatomy I at the University Hospital and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, as well as head of the »Connectivity« research group at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1) at Forschungszentrum Jülich. She studied medicine, business administration, and economics. In 2008, she earned her doctorate in medicine from the University of Düsseldorf and in 2012, a doctorate in business administration from the University of Cologne. In 2013, she completed her habilitation in neuroscience at the University of Düsseldorf. In 2015, she became a board-certified specialist in anatomy. She was also appointed to a W2 professorship in connectivity in the human brain at the University of Düsseldorf and became a research group leader at Forschungszentrum Jülich. In 2018, she was appointed to the W3 professorship in anatomy at the University of Düsseldorf and took over as director of the Institute of Anatomy I, while continuing her work in Jülich. Since 2020, she has served as Vice Dean for Teaching and Academic Quality at the University of Düsseldorf’s Faculty of Medicine and was elected to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in 2021 and to the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) in 2024.