The Computational Psychiatry Working Group led by Prof. Dr. Hamidreza Jamalabadi has been awarded €871,142.00 under the Hessian funding line Distr@l 4A for the research project “MindShift.” The project, funded from January 2026, aims to develop and validate personalized, AI-supported neurostimulation approaches for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.

The project is based at the Psychiatric Control Lab of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Faculty of Medicine). Prof. Dr. Jamalabadi serves as project spokesperson and overall lead. The interdisciplinary project team comprises seven people: Dr. med. Felix Bernhard as co-project lead with responsibility for neurostimulation; Alina Buschhüter as clinical lead and study coordinator; and Marco Rothermel, Dr. Sarah Alizadeh, Svenja Julia Francke and Bita Shariatpanahi, who are responsible for artificial intelligence, software infrastructure, and experimental implementation.

The project is additionally supported by Timo Becker, who accompanies the team especially on translational, communication, and strategic matters.

“MindShift” builds on a series of recent scientific publications from the Computational Psychiatry Working Group that investigate the interface of neuroscience, mental health, artificial intelligence, and engineering. A particular focus is on dynamical systems and control-theoretic approaches that make it possible to formally model affective-cognitive brain states and to change them in a targeted way. On this basis, the project aims to develop hardware-independent optimization methods for neurostimulative treatments that can control existing stimulation devices individually and adaptively.

“We are very pleased about this funding, as it enables us to scale our technology in a targeted way and bring it closer to societal and market-oriented applications,” says Prof. Dr. Hamidreza Jamalabadi. “MindShift creates the necessary framework to comprehensively validate our scientific approaches and thus lay a foundation that enables external investment. This allows us to take the next step: translation into clinically usable applications for those who urgently need them.”

“For the Marburg site and the neuroscience and psychiatric research community that has grown here, this is of great significance, as the project is closely linked in content to existing initiatives and allows for consistent translational further development with a clear societal impact.”

Even before the current grant, the project was recognized for its innovation and transfer potential and won first place in the Hessen Ideas Competition 2025.

In terms of content, “MindShift” is closely embedded in the current research structures of the University of Marburg. The project is directly related to the recently approved Cluster of Excellence “The Adaptive Mind” (EC-3066) and the DFG Collaborative Research Center CRC/TRR 393 “Trajectories of Affective Disorders,” in both of which Prof. Dr. Jamalabadi serves as Principal Investigator (PI). These consortia create an integrative research environment that systematically connects basic research, clinical psychiatry, and modern AI methods.

With the “MindShift” project, Marburg University strengthens its international visibility in Computational Psychiatry and contributes to the development of personalized, data-driven approaches in psychiatric care.