Prof. Dr. Christine Heim
- Section Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
- Location Berlin, Germany
- Election year 2024
Research
Christine Heim is a German-American psychologist whose research focuses particularly on the psychobiological effects of stress and trauma and their long-term impact on health. Her work combines insights from psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology, and provides psychiatry and medicine with an innovative new perspective.
She takes a multidisciplinary approach, integrating psychological, neuroendocrine, immunobiological, and neural measurements, and supplements them with imaging. Her research shows that early childhood stress combined with genetic factors leaves long-term “scars” that impact brain development, immune function, and behaviour.
A focal point of Christine Heim’s work is the question of how early childhood stress influences a person’s ability to adapt throughout their life, and how it increases the risk of mental and physical illnesses. Traumatic childhood experiences are considered risk factors for depression, anxiety disorders, and addiction, as well as cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Christine Heim examines how early trauma interacts with the brain’s genetic blueprint and influences long-term neurobiological circuits that regulate behaviour and physiological processes. Her research team demonstrated that early-childhood stress results in profound changes in stress regulation, the immune system, and neural networks. The focus is on interactions between genes and the environment, resulting in epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation.
Christine Heim aims to not only understand the biological processes that lead to the biological embedding of stress in early childhood, but also to use early interventions to interrupt the mechanisms that lead to illness. Additionally, new diagnostic markers could help identify vulnerable persons and make it possible to better evaluate likely responses to therapy. Her research currently focuses on long-term studies to record the biological embedding processes of early-childhood stress at the neural, physiological, and molecular levels. A childhood high in stress correlates with changed gene expression profiles as well as with an increased or decreased expression of mitochondrial proteins. Further studies concentrate on neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory processes as well as on accelerated ageing of the brain following early-childhood stress or trauma. Studies led by Christine Heim have shown that traumatic childhood experiences can increase the risk of dementia in old age. Women who have experienced a high degree of stress or trauma in their childhood have been shown to have more biomarkers for inflammation and neurodegeneration in their blood, a reduced brain volume, and more cognitive impairments.
Christine Heim’s research shows how early trauma impacts the brain’s development and how targeted strategies can prevent and alleviate the consequences. She uses the nervous system’s ability to adapt as a means of promoting long-term health and resilience. The insights gained inform new concepts for early recognition and intervention that improve individual well-being and have far-reaching positive impacts on healthcare.
Career
- since 2024 Scientific Director, Charité Center 1 (CC1) for Prevention, Medical Humanities, and Health Sciences, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- 2014-2023 Research Professor, College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA
- since 2011 Professor and Director, Institute of Medical Psychology, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- 2006-2011 Fellow, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- 2001-2007 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
- 1999-2001 Scientific Associate, Department of Clinical & Physiological Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
- 1996-1999 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
- 1993-1996 Scientific Associate, Department of Clinical and Physiological Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
- 1996-1999 Post-doctoral Fellow, Clinical Psychobiology, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- 1996 PhD in Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
- 1993 Degree (Diplom) in Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
Functions
- since 2024 Member, Steering Group “Prevention”, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- since 2024 Member, Research Committee, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- since 2024 Member, Budget Committee, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- since 2023 Member, Medical Senate, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- since 2023 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Right to Belong Consortium, University of Turku (UTU), Turku, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, University of Jyväskylä (JYU), Jyväskylä, and Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
- since 2022 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Trauma Research Center, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- 2022-2023 Spokesperson, Charité Mental Health Board, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- since 2021 Member, Board of Directors, German Society for Medical Psychology (DGMP), Germany
- 2021-2023 Member, Steering Committee 4 “Promoting Talent”, Berlin University Alliance (BUA), Berlin, Germany
- since 2020 Member, Tenure Track Strategy Board, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- since 2020 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany
- 2020 Member, Selection Committee for Junge Akademie, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW), and German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
- since 2019 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Prevention Network Vorpommern: Psychosocial and neurobiological health of pregnant women and young mothers (PRIVILEG-M), University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- since 2018 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (LIR), Mainz, Germany
- 2018-2019 Member, Working Group “Academic Personnel Development Concept and Preparation of an Application for a federally funded Tenure Track Career Development Program at the Charité”, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- 2017 Member, Selection Committee Junge Akademie, BBAW, and German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
- 2017 Member, Expert Study Group for the Statement “Refugee Mental Health”, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
- 2017-2022 Member, Ethics Committee, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- since 2014 Member, Steering Committee, Master’s Program in Medical Neuroscience, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- since 2014 Deputy Member, Faculty Council, Charité − Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- 2014-2020 Member, Selection Committee, Elsa NeumannStipend of the Federal State of Berlin (NaFöG), Berlin University of the Arts, Berlin, Germany
- 2012-2014 Member, Education and Training Committee, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), Brentwood, USA
- 2009-2010 Member, Awards Committee, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)
- 2009-2011 Member, Faculty Development Committee, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
- 2008-2011 Member, Institutional Review Board, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
- 2004-2007 Member, General Clinical Research Center Advisory Committee, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- 2003-2011 Member, Membership Committee, International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE)
Projects
since 2024 Associate Member, German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), Göttingen, Germany
since 2023 Member, Center for Safe and Healthy Children, College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA
2023-2025 Principal Investigator, German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Germany
since 2019 Principal Investigator, Sub-project “Early life stress and AUD: identifying neural and real-world targets for mechanism-based interventions”, Transregio (TRR) 265, German Research Foundation (DFG), Germany
since 2019 Participating Scientist, Cluster of Excellence (EXC) 2049 “Comprehensive approaches to neurological and psychiatric disorders (NeuroCure)”, DFG, Germany
since 2019 Fellow, Max Planck School of Cognition, Munich, Germany
since 2018 Member, Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin (CNS), Berlin, Germany
2017-2023 Principal Investigator, Project “Translational Center for Child Maltreatment Studies. Etiological Processes in the Onset and Maintenance of Adverse Health Outcomes in Maltreated Youth”, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA
2017-2021 Principal Investigator, Project “Understanding and Mitigating the Impact of Early-Life Stress on Disease Risk: Towards Developmental Programming of Lifelong Health (Kids2Health)”, Research Network on Pediatric Medicine and Lifelong Health, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
2013-2017 Principal Investigator, Project “Immediate Biological Embedding of Maltreatment in Children”, Research Network on Consequences of Maltreatment, Neglect, and Violence in Childhood and Adolescence, BMBF, Germany
2013-2017 Co-Applicant, Project “Transmission of Traumatic Childhood Experience across Generations: Mother-Child Interaction in Traumatized Mothers with Borderline Personality Disorder”, DFG, Germany
since 2012 Member, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Berlin, Germany
since 2011 Principal Investigator, EXC 2019 “NeuroCure – new perspectives in the treatment of neurological diseases”, DFG, Germany
2001-2011 Member, NIH Emory Conte Center for the Neuroscience of mental Disorders, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
2000-2003 Principal Investigator, Subproject “Investigating the mechanisms of hypocortisolism and its target-cell effects in post-traumatic stress disorder and stress-dependent physical complaints”, Research Unit (FOR) 255, DFG, Germany
Honours and Memberships
- since 2024 Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
- since 2024 Member, Berlin Scientific Society (BWG), Berlin, Germany
- 2015 Patricia R. Barchas Award in Sociophysiology, American Psychosomatic Association (today: Society for Biopsychological Science and Medicine (SBSM)), USA
- 2015 Member, BBAW, Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany
- 2008 Member, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), USA
- 2007 Curt P. Richter Award (today: Dirk Hekkhammer Award), International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE)
- 2006 Research Scientist Career Development Award, NIH, Bethesda, USA
- 2006 Junior Faculty Research Grant Award, Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), USA
- 2005 Young Investigator Award, National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD), USA
- 2004 Chaim Danieli Young Professional Award, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)
- 2003 Elected Scholar, Society for Biological Psychiatry (SOBP), Brentwood, USA
- 2002 Young Investigator Award, NARSAD, USA
- 2002 Travel Award, Endocrine Society, Washington D.C., USA
- 1998 Young Investigator Travel Award, ISPNE
- 1997 Dissertation Prize, University of Trier, Trier, Germany