Our Team

Camilla Ciapponi, Ph.D. joined our lab in January 2026 as a postdoctoral scientist. Originally from Milan, Italy, she earned her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Neurobiology from the University of Pavia (Italy). For her M.Sc. thesis, she joined the lab of Prof. Dr. Chris de Zeeuw at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam (Netherlands), where she used in vivo electrophysiology and optogenetics in behaving mice to study the cerebellum’s role in rhythmic voluntary movements. She then worked as a research assistant in the lab of Prof. Dr. Aparna Suvrathan at McGill University (Canada), using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology and behavioral paradigms to investigate plasticity rules in the cerebellum. Camilla was then awarded a Marie Curie PhD fellowship within the “Cerebellum and Emotional Network” project. For her Ph.D. thesis at the University of Pavia (Italy), in the lab of Prof. Dr. Egidio D’Angelo, she used head-mounted miniature microscopes for in vivo calcium imaging in freely behaving mice, investigating how cerebellum-prefrontal pathways contribute to fear learning and extinction. Her Ph.D. training included a research stay with Prof. Dr. Philip Tovote at the University Hospital Würzburg (Germany), where she trained in chronic ECG electrode implantation. When not in the lab, she’s usually hiking in the mountains or playing beach volleyball.

Julian Wettlaufer joined our lab in September 2025 as a Ph.D. student within the GSN at LMU Munich. He grew up in Großalmerode, Germany, and completed both his B.Sc. in Biology and M.Sc. in Developmental, Neural and Behavioral Biology at the University of Göttingen (Germany). For his B.Sc. thesis in the lab of Prof. Dr. André Fiala, he used optogenetics to investigate the role of mushroom body output neurons in Drosophila learning and feeding behavior. During his M.Sc., he worked in the lab of Prof. Dr. Siegrid Löwel, studying experience-dependent plasticity in the mouse visual cortex using in vivo intrinsic optical imaging and 2-photon microscopy. He also trained in Prof. Dr. Carolin Wichmann’s lab, where he used transmission electron microscopy to study synaptic ultrastructure in the cochlear nucleus. He completed his M.Sc. thesis in the lab of Prof. Dr. Jeong Seop Rhee at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (Germany), using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology to study synaptic vesicle dynamics and short-term plasticity in hippocampal neurons.

Hüma Erbörü joined our lab in October 2025 as a Ph.D. student within the GSN at LMU Munich. Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, she completed her B.A. in Psychology at Boğaziçi University (Turkey) and a dual M.Sc. in Brain and Mind Sciences at University College London (UK) and Sorbonne University (France). At UCL, in the lab of Dr. Marc Aurel Busche, she used in vivo two-photon calcium imaging to study neural network dysfunction in tauopathy models of Alzheimer’s disease. At Sorbonne, she worked with Dr. Rebecca Piskorowski using extracellular electrophysiological recordings to explore how social and environmental factors influence CA2 circuit function in the hippocampus. She later worked as a research assistant at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behavior (UK) with Dr. Chunyu Ann Duan, studying flexible decision-making in mice using chemogenetics and translational models. She hopes to build on her systems neuroscience foundation during her Ph.D. by expanding into translational and clinical approaches, with the ultimate goal of contributing to more personalized interventions in mental health.

Kilian Katzenberger will join our lab in February 2026 as a Ph.D. student at LMU Munich with the IMPRS-BI. He grew up in Würzburg, Germany and earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc in Biochemistry at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (Germany). For his B.Sc. thesis, he joined the group of Prof. Dr. Michael Sendtner, where he used primary mouse motor neuron cultures to investigate the influence of Spinal Muscular Atrophy on translation and active zone organization in growth cones of primary motor neurons. In his M.Sc. thesis in the lab of Prof. Dr. Philip Tovote, he used optogenetics in behaving mice, viral tracings and chronic ECG electrode implantations to investigate the role of rostral zona incerta neurons in alleviating parkinsonian-like symptoms in a synucleinopathy model of Parkinson’s Disease. He later continued working as a research assistant for Prof. Dr. Philip Tovote, contributing to the establishment of a novel behavioral paradigm and using advanced imaging techniques to study the aggregation of mutated α-synuclein in monoaminergic neurons. When not in the lab, he is usually hiking or skiing in the mountains or going for extended bike rides.

Reuben Rajadhyaksha joined our lab in July 2025 as a research assistant. He grew up in Goa, India, and received his B.Sc. in Zoology from Goa University (India) and his M.Sc. in Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences from the University of Groningen (Netherlands). During his M.Sc., Reuben completed two independent thesis projects. In the lab of Prof. Dr. Eddy van der Zee, he used behavioral experiments and immunohistochemistry to explore passive exercise as a therapeutic intervention in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. Next, in the lab of Prof. Dr. Jean-Christophe Billeter, he performed behavioral assays and gene analysis to investigate the genetic basis of sociability in Drosophila and compared identified genes with human GWAS data related to social behavior. Before joining the Schroeder lab, Reuben worked as a research assistant in the lab of Prof. Dr. Sarah Melzer at the Medical University of Vienna (Austria), where he independently designed and conducted long-term behavioral experiments on reward-based learning in mice.

Helena da Costa Graça joined our lab in November 2025 as a M.Sc. student within the GSN at LMU Munich. She grew up in Mafra, Portugal, and earned her B.Sc. in Psychology at ISPA University (Portugal), where she developed her initial interest in neuroscience through a research skills development program. During this time, she gained experience conducting neuropsychological assessments as part of a test-normalization project. Before joining the GSN, she completed internships in neuropsychiatry and neural circuit dysfunction at the Champalimaud Foundation (Portugal). During these experiences, she learned about in vivo imaging methods, observed surgical procedures in mice involving viral and fiber implantations, and worked on fMRI data analysis. In a subsequent internship at the University of Lisbon (Portugal), she contributed to an EEG study on voice perception, assisting with protocol design as well as data collection and analysis.