Meet our Team

We are a highly interdisciplinary team working together towards the common goal of contributing to ataxia research. Do not hesitate to contact us!

Team IconAtaxia Awareness Day Ataxia Information Day at DZNE on 25.09.2025
  • Jennifer Faber

    she/her

    PI

    I studied medicine and mathematics. Together with my team, our main research aim is the optimization of MR imaging biomarkers particularly for ataxia disorders and thus, improvement of data-driven disease modeling.

  • Berkan Koyak

    Physician

    I was born in Bursa, Turkey in 1994 and moved to Germany in 2017. I am currently doing my residency in neurology at the University Hospital Bonn and a postdoc at the DZNE in the group of Ahmad Aziz. I have participated in several observational and pharmacological studies at the Clinical Trials Unit of DZNE in ataxias, multisystematrophy (MSA), hereditary spinal paraparesis (HSP), Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear paralysis (PSP), Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). My research interests are disease models of neurodegenerative diseases and 3D avatars of various movement disorders, for which I am currently involved in the InVirtuo 4.0 project. (https://invirtuo.org/) My long-term enthusiasm lies in the clinical applications of AI in neurology.

  • Anna Müller

    Study Nurse

  • Philipp Wegner

    he/him

    Ph.D. Student

    I majored in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Bonn, focusing my research on machine learning and computer vision. Specifically, I explore markerless motion capture for movement analysis and deep learning in MRI analysis. Additionally, I contribute to the development of new biomarkers for ataxia.

  • Alena Rosenow

    Medical Student

    Hi, I am Alena Rosenow. I am a medical student in Bonn since 2020. After an internship at the neurology department, my interest in neurology was awakened. So, in Oktober 2024, I started my student job as well as doing my medical doctoral thesis at the DZNE.

  • Anton Ludwig

    Medical Student

    I am a medical student at the University of Bonn and I am currently working on my doctoral thesis at the DZNE. My research focuses on the cerebellum and its role in neurodegenerative diseases.

  • Kenneth Teichmann

    he/him

    Medical Student

    I am currently studying medicine and my research interests are neurodegenerative diseases, movement disorders and medical imaging.

  • Maya Shrestha

    Medical Student

    I am currently studying medicine at the University of Bonn and I am working on my doctoral thesis at the DZNE and the UKB. My research focusses on FTD and the cerebellum.

  • Anna Esser

    she/her

    Project Manager

  • Federica Re

    she/her

    Physician

    I studied Medicine and Surgery at the Polytechnic University of Marche in Ancona (2016/2022). My research interest was/is the role of volumetric alterations of the cerebellum in SCA3 patients detected through 3T-MRI scans as a biomarker in the early diagnosis of this disease.

  • Mónica Ferreira

    she/her

    Ph.D. Student

    I studied Biomedical Engineering and Biophysics at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. My research interests primarily focus on ultra-high field MRI and MRI techniques, particularly in the areas of diffusion MRI, quantitative susceptibility mapping and myelin water imaging.

  • Jahn Theissen

    Student

  • Alexander Lange

    he/him

    Medical Student

    I am currently studying medicine at the University of Bonn with the goal of becoming a neurologist. My research is focused on structural changes of the dentate in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.

  • Frederick Trammer

    Medical Student

  • Leo Roth

    Medical Student

  • SCArlett

    she/her

    Feel Good Manager

    I am the house-trained, easy-care, feel good manager for the entire team and responsible for good-vibes only.