I received a BA in Psychology from Columbia University, and a Master’s Degree in Neuroscience from the Ruhr Universität Bochum. I then completed my PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Lausanne in 2009, under the supervision of Profs. Ron Stoop and Pierre Magistretti, investigating the changes in synaptic plasticity and excitability of Lateral Amygdala neurons after strong in vitro activation as a model of the changes occurring after the onset of PTSD. Following completion of my PhD thesis, I was a post-doctoral research fellow at New York University, in the lab of Prof. Regina Sullivan studying the long-term effects of early life stress and then at Columbia University, in the lab of Prof. René Hen assessing the behavioural and physiological consequences of chronic Fluoxetine (Prozac) treatment in different mice models. I've also had the opportunity to complete two internships, the first within the Department of Mental Health at WHO and the second at the World Psychiatric Association (WPA). While in New York, I began taking classes in Public Relations at NYU; and upon my return to Switzerland, obtained a position as a Corporate Communication Specialist at Shire Pharmaceuticals, where I was involved in both internal and external communication strategies and local community relation activities. I currently hold the position of manager/scientific officer at the NCCR Synapsy (EPFL & UNIGE), responsible for diverse tasks such as scientific communication, public outreach, budget allocation and scientific reporting on the topic of ‘The Synaptic Bases of Mental Diseases’ – working towards the promotion of mental health research and the destigmatization of mental health disorders.