Dr. med. Sarah Mackert

Dr. Sarah Mackert is a resident physician at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and is currently pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Bonn in the research group “Neurohomoeostasis “ under the supervision of Dr. Nils Gassen. Her research focuses on investigating the effects of stress on homeostatic processes, particularly autophagy and polyamine metabolism, and their role in the development of stress-related psychiatric disorders (SRPDs), such as depression and anxiety disorders. An additional focus is on the prevention and treatment of these conditions.

As part of the Neuro-aCSis Fellowship, she will conduct various human intervention studies with healthy individuals to explore the interplay between stress factors (e.g., sleep deprivation, pharmacological stressors) and environmental factors (e.g., exercise, diet) on molecular parameters using protein biochemistry and advanced multi-omics techniques. Another key area of her research will be the investigation of the therapeutic potential of the endogenous metabolite spermidine, which can induce autophagy and may represent a promising strategy for treating SRPDs. This project is conducted in close collaboration with Prof. Frank Madeo at the University of Graz (Austria) and Dr. Jakob Hartmann at McLean Hospital in Boston (USA).

The long-term goal of her research is to achieve a deeper understanding of the development of psychiatric disorders in order to develop novel preventive and therapeutic approaches.