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Barbara Molz is a post-doctoral researcher in ‘brain imaging genomics’ with Prof. Simon Fisher at the Language & Genetics department. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Regensburg, followed by a master’s degree in molecular neuroscience at the University of Vienna. There, she worked as a diploma student and later as a research assistant at the ‘Institute of Molecular Pathology’, followed by a second research assistant position at the Medical University (Neurophysiology & Neuropharmacology).
After 5 years in Vienna, Barbara began a Marie Curie PhD Fellowship in ‘Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging’ at the University of York (UK) as a part of the NextGenVis Innovative Training Network. During her PhD, Barbara used both structural and functional MRI to detail how congenital vision loss (i.e. Achromatopsia) affects both functional and anatomical properties in early visual cortex, with the goal to inform novel restorative approaches currently available to this patient population. Her current research at the MPI makes use of large datasets, like UK Biobank, to understand the genetic variants implicated in hominine evolution and how they might have influenced human brain shape, structure, and language-related traits. She is also involved in the genome wide meta-analysis of diffusion weighted imaging phenotypes, under the umbrella of the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro-Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) consortium and a project focused on Heschl’s Gyrus. Besides work and science, Barbara very much enjoys live music, whether at concerts or festivals, hiking in the mountains, cooking and good food in general, and of course, also some relaxed evenings watching a box set or two. |