International Max Planck Research School on Computational Methods in Psychiatry and Ageing Research (COMP2PSYCH)

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) COMP2PSYCH serves as the graduate program of the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research. In London, the students are based at University College London (UCL); in Berlin, they are based at the MPI for Human Development and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Co-Speakers: Ulman Lindenberger, MPI for Human Development; Raymond J. Dolan, UCL
Coordinators: Silke Schäfer, MPI for Human Development; Toyah Perkins, UCL

COMP2PSYCH teaches and trains concepts and methods from computer science and statistics in relation to substantive research questions in psychiatry and lifespan psychology. It was established by the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research in early 2016 and gives predoctoral students the opportunity to learn, apply, and develop computational and statistical methods that foster our understanding of individual development from childhood to old age, with an emphasis on mental illness and healthy cognitive aging.

COMP2PSYCH combines and integrates training in computer science, applied mathematics and statistics, psychology, and psychiatry with the goal of enabling the students to adapt and develop computational and statistical tools according to their data-analytic and scientific needs in the fields of psychiatry and lifespan psychology. Teaching fundamental concepts in cognitive science, lifespan psychology, and psychiatry in relation to computational and statistical theories and methods creates a superior degree of synergy between fields. In addition, the students benefit from the excellent research opportunities offered at both the Berlin and London sites. Indeed, the IMPRS COMP2PSYCH was positively evaluated by the Max Planck Society in September 2020 and extended for another six-year period from October 2022 until 2028.

Predoctoral students have been recruited yearly since 2016. Successful applicants have completed a master’s degree, or equivalent, in a discipline relevant to the school’s program, for example cognitive neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, health science, or statistics.

During the reporting period, 12 doctoral students were active in the IMPRS COMP2PSYCH in Berlin (see Table 1). Ten worked at the MPI for Human Development: three in the Lifespan Neural Dynamics Group (LNDG), two at the Center for Adaptive Rationality (ARC), two at the Max Planck Research Group NeuroCode (Neural and Computational Basis of Learning, Memory and Decision Making), two in the Center for Lifespan Psychology (LIP), and one in the Lise Meitner Group (LMG) for Environmental Neuroscience. In addition, two students worked at the Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Three successfully completed their dissertations and joined the ten COMP2PSYCH alumni. During the reporting period, 11 students worked on their dissertation projects in London (see https://www.imprs-comp2psych.mpg.de).

The three-year training program involves seminars, workshops, participation in summer schools, and collaborative supervision of research training. The focus of the Berlin site is computational and statistical advances in studying individual differences in development from childhood to old age. Methods include structural and functional neuroimaging, computational modeling, and statistical methods for the multivariate analysis of longitudinal changes in brain and behavior. Table 2 shows the seminars and workshops offered in Berlin during the reporting period.

The strongest integrative components of the interdisciplinary and international COMP2PSYCH program are the annual meetings in which students and faculty from all COMP2PSYCH institutions participate. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, these personal meetings and exchanges could not take place for some time. There were several meetings in an online format instead. Nevertheless, the last Max Planck UCL Centre’s Symposium and Advanced Course on Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research was held in September 2022 at Schloss Marbach.

Finally, a monthly, student-centered colloquium series that is jointly hosted by the Berlin and London sites was started in 2020. PhD students give talks on their upcoming, in progress, or completed research, and students, postdocs, and faculty provide in-depth feedback.

Table 1. Berlin COMP2PSYCH Students’ Affiliations and Dissertation Projects (01/2020–03/2023)

Note that titles in italics indicate that the respective PhD thesis has been defended. The asterisk shows that the thesis has been submitted.

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Table 2. COMP2PSYCH Seminars and Workshops 2020–03/2023, Berlin

Note. The Berlin students were able to participate in lectures held at UCL via video-conferencing; they were also invited to participate in all LIFE activities (see https://www.imprs-life.mpg.de/life-program/curriculum/seminars).

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COMP2PSYCH Faculty
Dominik Bach, University College London
Andreas M. Brandmaier, MPI for Human Development
Christian Doeller, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig
Raymond J. Dolan, University College London
Stephen Fleming, University College London
Douglas D. Garrett, MPI for Human Development
Tobias Hauser, University College London
Ralph Hertwig, MPI for Human Development
Quentin Huys, University College London
Ylva Köhncke, MPI for Human Development
Simone Kühn, MPI for Human Development
Ulman Lindenberger, MPI for Human Development
Janaina Mourao-Miranda, University College London
Nicolas W. Schuck, MPI for Human Development
Tali Sharot, University College London
Bernhard Spitzer, MPI for Human Development
Stephanie Theves, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig
Arno Villringer, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig
Manuel C. Völkle, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Timo von Oertzen, Universität der Bundeswehr München & MPI for Human Development
Markus Werkle-Bergner, MPI for Human Development
G. Elliott Wimmer, University College London