Simone Kühn is among the top 100 minds in Berlin science in 2024
The Tagesspiegel honors scientists from the Berlin-Brandenburg research region
Simone Kühn, Director of the Center for Environmental Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, is one of the 100 most important minds in Berlin science in 2024. The award is presented by the editorial team of the Tagesspiegel and recognizes personalities whose research lays the foundations for tomorrow's innovations.
She investigates how various environmental factors influence the brain and behavior. She was able to show that natural environments, such as forest walks, reduce stress reactions in the brain and increase cognitive performance. Her work aims to understand the effects of the environment on the brain and to gain insights for urban development and the prevention of mental illness.
Simone Kühn studied psychology at the University of Potsdam. She has long been associated with the Max Planck Society. The neuroscientist was a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig. After postdoctoral positions at Ghent University in Belgium, University College London, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, she led the “Mechanisms and Sequential Progression of Plasticity” group at the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development from 2012 to 2016. She then took a Heisenberg professorship at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). In 2019, she returned to the Max Planck Institute for Human Development as head of the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience. Since July 2024 she has been a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society and Director of the Center for Environmental Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
