Hello World

I am a Postdoc at the Department of Psychology of the University of Konstanz, Germany, and formerly, at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Research Department of the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel (UPK), Switzerland.

I study effects of stress on health and behavior, with a special focus on the regulatory interactions between stress and the metabolic system.

Laboratory experiments

During my doctoral thesis at the University of Konstanz, I investigated the effects of sugar on psychophysiological responses to stress and relaxation. Using endocrine and cardiovascular markers (i.e., cortisol, heart rate, heart rate variability), we found that glucose has the potential to increase the endocrine stress response.

In my current work, I investigate why sugar amplifies the cortisol stress reactivity and whether this has effects on behavior and cognition. For these projects, I received funding from the Messmer Foundation and the Young Scholar Fund of the University of Konstanz. A short explanation video can be found here.

Observational studies

I complement this line of research by studying long term effects of adverse experiences in childhood and adolescence on health and disease. Thereby, I am currently working in the JAEL project, which comprises a longitudinal study in a high risk sample of care leavers in Switzerland. I specifically focus on the role of epigenetics and oxidative stress in the link between early adversity and later adult health.

My goal is to contribute to a deeper understanding of why stress-related disorders like depression often go hand in hand with a metabolic disruption like obesity or type 2 diabetes.

In case of any questions, do not hesitate to drop me a mail at maria [dot] meier [at] uni [dot] kn