Janina Seubert

Janina Seubert

Principal Researcher | Docent
Telephone: +46852482471
Visiting address: Nobels väg 9, 17165 Solna
Postal address: K8 Klinisk neurovetenskap, K8 Psykologi Seubert, 171 77 Stockholm
Part of:

About me

  • I am a cognitive neuroscientist with a background in functional neuroimaging
    of perception and emotion in healthy populations and patients with
    psychiatric illness. Before joining the Psychology Division at KI in 2014, I
    worked at the Monell Chemical Senses Center and the University of
    Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA, where I began to study cortical
    integration of smell and taste during food perception. I am currently
    affiliated with the Psychology Division at the Clinical Neuroscience
    Department, where I lead the Nutritional Neuroscience Lab that conducts
    experimental work on odor-taste integration
    (see https://ki.se/en/cns/janina-seuberts-research-group [1] for details).
    I am also affiliated with the Center for Eating Disorder Innovation
    (CEDI, https://ki.se/en/meb/cedi-centre-for-eating-disorders-innovation [2])
    where I study the processing of olfactory reward in anorexia nervosa and
    binge eating disorders.
    I am a member of the Young Academy of Sweden-in this role, I try to increase
    public awareness for the importance of basic science and try to work towards
    a more international and diverse academia. Find out more here:
    https://www.sverigesungaakademi.se/ [3]
    2006 Master of Science in Neuro-Cognitive Psychology, LMU Munich, Germany
    2010 PhD in Clinical Neuroscience, RWTH Aachen University
    2010-2014 Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Pennsylvania/Monell Chemical
    Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
    2015-2019 Assistant Professor (Forskarassistent), Department of Clinical
    Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
    2020- Principal Researcher (Senior Forskare), Department of Clinical
    Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
    2021- Docent in Psychology, Karolinska Institutet
    [1] https://ki.se/en/cns/janina-seuberts-research-group
    [2] https://ki.se/en/meb/cedi-centre-for-eating-disorders-innovation
    [3] https://www.sverigesungaakademi.se/

Research

  • The identification of food objects, and decision whether or not to eat them
    at a particular point in time, is crucial for our survival, and depends
    heavily on the ability to remember associations between sensory information
    from different modalities. My current research studies the neural networks
    which permit the identification of smells in the environment, their
    integration with visual and gustatory cues, and the assessment of their
    behavioral relevance. In particular, I use structural and functional MRI as
    well as psychophysical and psychophysiological recordings to investigate the
    role of these networks for the maintenance of human health, as related to,
    for example, disease avoidance and appetite regulation.
    I am Principal Investigator on the project "Perceptual decision-making about
    food flavor in the mouth, and its role in food intake regulation" funded by
    the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), from 2019-2022 and the
    project "Metabolisk reglering av anticipatoriska matbelöningsupplevelser -
    från perceptuella mekanismer till kliniska implikationer" from 2023-2026.
    I am also awardee of an ERC Starting Grant (2021-2026). The goal of my
    project OLFLINK is to investigate how new flavor preferences are formed, and
    how they are regulated by signals from the digestive tract. With this
    knowledge we aim to provide insights that can explain why it is so difficult
    to overcome our preferences for familiar food flavors in favor of healthier
    or more sustainable options, and thus inspire public health efforts directed
    towards dietary change.

Teaching

Articles

All other publications

Employments

  • Principal Researcher, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2021
  • PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 2010
  • Master of Science, Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2006
  • Bachelor of Science in Neuro-Cognitive Psychology, Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2005

Leadership and responsibility assignments

Distinction and awards

  • Award for Research Excellence in the Psychophysics of Human Taste and Smell, The Award for Research Excellence in the Psychophysics of Human Taste and Smell is awarded annually to an outstanding junior scientist in the field of psychophysics of human taste or olfaction. The research record should provide evidence of excellence and the promise to emerge as a leader in the field. The award is $2, 000 and is given during the Welcome/Awards Ceremony on opening night of the Annual Meeting., Association for Chemoreception Sciences, https://achems.org/web/awards-past.php, 2024
  • Member of the Young academy of Sweden, Young Academy of Sweden, 2021
  • Hans Heimann Prize, German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, https://www.dgppn.de/preise/promotionspreis-hans-heimann-preis.html#:~:text=Dr., im%20November%20in%20Berlin%20verliehen., 2010

Supervisor

  • Lucile Rey, 2024
  • Leonie Seidel, 2022
  • Putu Khorisantono, 2021
  • Androula Savva, 2021
  • Fondberg Robin, 2016
  • Danja Porada, An object's smell in the multisensory brain : how our senses interact during olfactory object processing, https://www.dissertations.se/dissertation/7157abe627/, 2015

Committee work

Visiting research fellowships

  • Visiting Researcher, Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Research visit financed by Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation, 2013-2013

Thesis evaluation

  • Dominika Radziun, Defence chairperson, Karolinska Institute, Body perception and brain plasticity in blind and sighted individuals, https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/48562, 2023
  • Doris Schicker, Examination board member, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Factors influencing Human Olfaction and Influences of Odors on Humans in the Context of Food and Cosmetics, 2023
  • Zakaryah Abdulkarim, Examination board member, Karolinska Institute, Limb ownership and voluntary action : human behavioral and neuroimaging studies, https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/47314, 2020

Other expert reviewer/evaluation assignment

  • Evaluator of research applications in international competition, grant reviewer, Wellcome Trust, 2024-2024
  • Evaluator of research applications in international competition, grant reviewer, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, 2024-2024
  • Evaluator of research applications in international competition, Member of evaluation Panel, Psychology, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, 2023-2024
  • Evaluator of research applications in international competition, grant reviewer, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 2023-2024
  • Evaluator of research applications in international competition, grant reviewer, Israel Science Foundation, 2022-2022

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