Prof. Dr. med. Arno Villringer

Research focus

Mind-Brain-Body interactions
Behavioural and psychological aspects of risk factors (hypertension, stress, obesity) for psychiatric and neurological diseases.
Multimodal brain imaging (integrating (f)MRI, PET, (M)EEG, fNIRS, TMS, TDCS)
Assessment of large (local) cohort studies (LIFE, LEMON) and big data (UK-Biobank, German national cohort)

Curriculum Vitae

	Villringer, Arno, Dr. med., Professor of Cognitive Neurology
Official position	Director, Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig Director, Department of Cognitive Neurology, Leipzig University Hospital Professor of Cognitive Neurology, Leipzig University Spokesperson, (national) Max Planck School of Cognition Director, MindBrainInstitute @Berlin School of Mind and Brain
Institution	Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig University MindBrainInstitute @Berlin School of Mind and Brain
Business address	Stephanstraße 1a, 04103 Leipzig

Academic education and degrees

1977-1984	Medical School, Albert Ludwig University Freiburg, Germany
1984	Doctorate in Molecular Biology (supervisor Professor Dr P.C. Heinrich), M.D., Albert Ludwig University Freiburg, Germany (summa cum laude)
1992	Board Certification in Neurology
1994	Habilitation in Neurology (mentors Prof. Dr. Karl M. Einhäupl, Professor Dr Thomas Brandt), Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Germany

Professional career

1980-1981	Experimental work for MD thesis Albert Ludwig University Freiburg, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology Laboratory of Professor Dr P. C. Heinrich, Germany.
1985	Postdoc at NMR Unit, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA: Fellow at NMR Unit. With Professor Dr Bruce Rosen and Professor Dr Tom Brady
1986–1988, 1989-1992	Resident at Department of Neurology, Klinikum Großhadern, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Professor Dr Th. Brandt)
1989	Resident at Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich (Professor Dr H. Hippius)
1992-1993	Research & Clinical Fellow, Department of Neurology, Klinikum Großhadern, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Professor Dr Th. Brandt)
1993-1996	Consultant Physician (Oberarzt), Department of Neurology, Charité University Medicine Berlin (Professor Dr Karl M. Einhäupl)
1996-2004	Vice Chairman, Department of Neurology, Charité University Medicine Berlin (Chairman Professor Dr Karl M. Einhäupl)
1996-2007	C3 Professor of Neurology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Dep. Neurology
1999-2004	Clinical supervisor of 30-bed neurology clinic, Campus Virchow, Charité University Medicine Berlin
2004-2007	Head of 53-bed neurology clinic, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité University Medicine
since 2006	Founding Director, Academic Director Berlin School of Mind and Brain (funded within German Excellence Initiative)
since 2007	Director and Scientific Member, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany
since 2007	Director, Clinic of Cognitive Neurology, Leipzig University Hospital
since 2008	Honorary Professor at Charité University Medicine Berlin
since 2009	Director, MindBrainBody Institute @ Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-University
since 2009	Professor for Cognitive Neurology, Leipzig University
since 2016	Adjunct Professor, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
since 2018	Founder and Spokesperson, (national) Max Planck School of Cognition

Research Coordination

1996-2002	Lead PI and Coordinator: Clinical Research Group (DFG): New Methods for Noninvasive Diagnostics of the Brain
since 1999	Coordinator: German Competence Network Stroke, Berlin (BMBF)
2000-2008	Lead PI and coordinator: Berlin NeuroImaging Center (BMBF)
since 2008	Board of Directors: Leipziger Forschungszentrum für Zivilisationskrankheiten [Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases] (LIFE)
since 2010	PI (Board of Directors 2013-2016) Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) AdiposityDiseases
since 2011	Deputy Director: Research Initiative MPS-UCL Max Planck Center: Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research
2012-2019	PI: NeuroCure, Research Cluster of Excellence (German Excellence Initiative), Berlin, Germany
since 2013	Steering Committee: Collaborative Research Center (CRC, “Sonderforschungsbereich”) Obesity Mechanism, Leipzig, Germany

Current Faculty Member in Graduate Schools

2005-present	International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course, Berlin
2006-present	Spokesperson, Berlin School of Mind & Brain, Germany
2013-2020 2020-present	Spokesperson, International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom Member of Faculty
2016-present	Einstein Center Neurosciences (Berlin)
2018-present	Spokesperson national Max Planck School of Cognition
2010-2018	Max Planck International Research Network on Aging (MaxNetAging), Rostock, Germany: Faculty Member
2018-present	International Max Planck Research School COMP2PSYCH
2018-present	Research Training Group 2386, Extrospection. External Access to Higher Cognitive Processes

Honors, awards and positions

1993	Gerhard Hess Prize (German Research Organization)
1996	Endowed Professorship (“C3”, DFG) as head of clinical research group (New methods for noninvasive functional brain assessment)
1999	Winner in national competition for nine national competence networks (Coordinator of nation-wide competence network stroke)
1999-2003	Program-Committee of International Organisation for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) (1999- 2003, Chair 2001-2002)
2002	Winner in national competition for five Neuroimaging Centers in Germany (as coordinator of Berlin NeuroImaging Center)
2006	Winner in national Excellency Program Competition (as lead-PI and Speaker of “Berlin School of Mind and Brain”)
2005-2008	Council Member, International Organisation for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) (2005-2008, 2006-2007: Treasurer)
2005	Pater Leander Fischer Prize of German Laser Society
2011	Member of “Wissenschaftliche Kommission” of the State Lower Saxony (Evaluation of Göttingen Medical Faculty)
2012	Chair of Evaluation Commission for Austrian Clinical Neurosciences
2013-2016	Supervisory board of Humboldt Graduate School, Humboldt-Universität Berlin
since 2014	Advisory Board: BioTechMed Graz, Austria (program of 3 universities)
since 2014	Deputy Director, Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research
since 2016	Adjunct Professor at Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Current journal editorial positions

since 2004	Editorial Board: Neurodegenerative Diseases
since 2017	Editorial Board: Brain and Neuroscience Advances
since 2020	Review Editor: Frontiers in Neuroenergetics, Nutrition and Brain Health

10 most important peer-reviewed papers

(10 out of 556, SCOPUS h-index: 85)

Al E, Iliopoulos F, Forschack N, Nierhaus T, Grund M … Villringer A. Heart-brain interactions shape somatosensory perception and evoked potentials. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2020;27: 201915629.

Mueller K, Thiel F, Beutner F, Teren A, Frisch S … Villringer A, Schroeter ML. Brain Damage With Heart Failure: Cardiac Biomarker Alterations and Gray Matter Decline. Circ Res. 2020;126: 750-764

Schaare HL, Kharabian Masouleh S, Beyer F, Kumral D, Uhlig M … Villringer A. Association of peripheral blood pres-sure with gray matter volume in 19- to 40-year-old adults. Neurology. 2019;92(8): e758-e773.

Lampe L, Zhang R, Beyer F, Huhn S, Kharabian Masouleh S … Villringer A, Witte AV. Visceral obesity relates to deep white matter hyperintensities via inflammation. Ann Neurol. 2019;85: 194-203.

Martins MJD, Krause C, Neville DA, Pino D, Villringer A, Obrig H. Recursive hierarchical embedding in vision is impaired by posterior middle temporal gyrus lesions. Brain. 2019;142: 3217-3229.

Schlögl H, Horstmann A, Villringer A, Stumvoll M. Functional neuroimaging in obesity and the potential for development of novel treatments. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2016;4: 695-705.

Okon-Singer H, Mehnert J, Hoyer J, Hellrung L, Schaare HL, Dukart J, Villringer A. Neural control of vascular reactions: impact of emotion and attention. J Neurosci. 2014;34: 4251-9.

Lv Y, Margulies DS, Cameron Craddock R, Long X, Winter B … Villringer A. Identifying the perfusion deficit in acute stroke with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Ann Neurol. 2013;3: 136-40.

Schlögl H, Kabisch S, Horstmann A, Lohmann G, Müller K … Villringer A, Stumvoll M. Exenatide-induced reduction in energy intake is associated with increase in hypothalamic connectivity. Diabetes Care. 2013;36: 1933-40.

Blankenburg F, Taskin B, Ruben J, Moosmann M, Ritter P, Curio G, Villringer A. Imperceptible Stimuli and Sensory Processing Impediment. Science. 2003;299: 1864.