I studied psychology at RWTH Aachen University, Germany (Diploma in Psychology) and the University of Dundee, United Kingdom (M.Sc. in Psychology). Subsequently, I pursued my PhD at Paris-Lodron-University in Salzburg, Austria and Eberhard-Karls-University in Tübingen, Germany. After that I moved to the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM), Tübingen, as a post-doc researcher before being appointed Professor for Applied Knowledge and Learning Psychology at the University of Tübingen seconded to IWM. I joined the Mathematics Education Centre / Centre for Mathematical Cognition at Loughborough University in 2020.

My research interests focus on the cognitive and neuronal underpinnings of mathematical skills. I pursue these interests employing latest behavioural (e.g., eye-tracking) and neuro-cognitive methods (e.g., fMRI/DTI, computational modelling) in experimental but also cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.. A particular focus of my work is on the development and acquisition of mathematical (e.g., through game-based approaches and embodied experiences) and corresponding changes on the cognitive as well as the neural level. My approach is driven by the idea that basic mathematical skills acquired in childhood serve as building blocks for later numerical and mathematical achievement and, thus, deserve specific interest and promotion.

Associated research fellow to Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany, International Member of the LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, University  of Tübingen, Germany, and the Centre for Individual Development and Adaptive Education, Frankfurt, Germany

My research projects have been funded by DFG (German Research Foundation), BMBF (German federal ministry for education and research), Hector Foundation II, Leibniz-Science Campus Tübingen and other funding bodies.

Editorial Boards: Journal of Numerical Cognition, Frontiers in Psychology – Specialty Section Developmental Psychology