Marla Pinkert, M.Sc.

EDUCATION

PhD candidate at the Max Planck School of Cognition

• Supervisor: Prof. Brigitte Röder

M.Sc. in Psychology at University of Vienna, Vienna

• Specialization: "Mind and Brain"
• Graduated with distinction, average of 1.07 (very good)
• Thesis: The Effects of APOE Genotype on Thalamus Connectivity, investigating (a) connectivity differences during encoding of memories, and (b) differences in pre- and post-task resting-state connectivity (supervisor: Assist.-Prof. Isabella Wagner)

B.Sc. in Psychology at University of Vienna, Vienna

• Graduated with distinction, average of 1.44 (very good)

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES

Lab Rotation at BPN, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, with Prof. Brigitte Röder

• Assessing structure to function relationships in people with a transient history of congenital cataracts and sighted controls using DeepRetinotopy

Lab Rotation at the Schuck Lab, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, with Prof. Nicolas Schuck

• Created a searchlight analysis pipeline for detection of neural replay
• Used DeepMReye for fMRI based eye-tracking, created scripts for the lab for future use of the tool

 Research and Teaching Assistant at the Wagner Lab, University of Vienna, Vienna, with Assist.-Prof. Isabella Wagner

• Taught practical sessions on fMRI data analysis and preprocessing
• Graph theoretical investigation of the spatial navigation network at rest, including preprocessing and analyzing fMRI data, writing manuscript

Research and Teaching Assistant at the SCAN-Unit, University of Vienna, Vienna, with Prof. Claus Lamm

• Collection of fMRI data (Siemens Magnetom Skyra MR system)
• Created and graded exam questions for courses on biological psychology and cognitive-affective neurosciences

Internship at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, with Dr. Markus Rütgen

• Administered diagnostic interviews via telephone, supervised other interns as part of a study on empathy and depression
• Preprocessed fMRI data for an ongoing study investigating empathy for pain using a chronic pain mimicry paradigm

Internship at the SCAN-Unit, University of Vienna, Vienna, with Dr. Alexandrina Guran 

• Data collection for an experiment investigating false beliefs in preschool aged children

  TEACHING

Theory and Empirical Research – Neuroimaging

• Teaching practical sessions for a master’s course on preprocessing and analysis of fMRI data (FSL, Nipype, Nilearn)
• Leading students through analysis replications of fMRI studies
• Teaching materials: https://github.com/marlapinkert/TEWA2

 SCHOLARSHIPS

 Förderungsstipendium nach dem StudFG financed by the bmfbw

• Scholarship awarded by the University of Vienna to conduct master’s thesis project on the effects of APOE genotype on thalamus connectivity

Leistungsstipendium StudFG financed by the bmfbw

• Merit-based scholarship awarded by the University of Vienna to students with outstanding academic performance

SCIENCE OUTREACH

Kinderuni Almtal (Almtal Children's University)

• Teaching classes on neurosciences and psychology at a children’s university event for curious children aged 9 to 15

SKILLS

• Python, R, html, CSS

• Nipype & Nilearn
• Neuroimaging software such as FSL, ANTs, & Freesurfer
• Machine learning with scikit-learn

LANGUAGES