Nicole Leibold (N.K.)

Nicole Leibold obtained her bachelor's degree in Molecular Life Sciences at Maastricht University in 2009. During the following two-years research master program 'Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience' she specialized in 'Fundamental Neuroscience'. As a PhD student she worked on a translational project to study the pathophysiology of panic disorder at the School of Mental Health and Neuroscience. She spent several months abroad at Yale University (USA) and the University of Würzburg (Germany). In addition to working on her PhD project, Nicole successfully completed the 'International Master in Affective Neuroscience', a joint postgraduate research master by the University of Florence, Italy, and Maastricht University. In her postdoctoral period at the University of Iowa (USA), she investigated the role of the serotonergic system in CO2-induced arousal.

In 2018, Nicole returned to Maastricht University to pursue her studies at the interface of biology and psychiatry. She further investigates the mechanisms of (pathological) emotions and the relationship between physiology and subjective experience, with a special emphasis on panic as intense emotion. In this context, she also collaborates on determining targets for neuromodulation in anxiety disorder patients. She envisions to translate this knowledge into new therapeutic and preventive approaches.