• Since 2023: Principal Investigator at the German Center of Mental Health (DZPG), site Bochum-Marburg
   
• 2025-2028: Coordinator of the EU Horizon project LONELY-EU: The Social Isolation and Loneliness in Europe Network: Evidence-Based Policy Recommendations on its Causes, Consequences, and Monitoring (36 months), funded by the European Union
   
• 2024-2026: Work and loneliness: Identifying target groups and starting points for the prevention of loneliness in the work contex (36 months), funded by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) and the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS)
   
• 2023: Loneliness among youth in North-Rhine Westphalia (5 months), commissioned by the Staatskanzlei NRW
   
• 2022-2024: Determinants of subjective well-being in sensitive periods in adolescence (24 months), MERCUR KOOPERATION project with Ricarda Steinmayr, TU Dortmund and Marcus Roth, University of Duisburg-Essen, funded by the Mercator Research Center Ruhr (Ko-2021-0022)
   
• 2019-2024: Culturally sensitive assessment of mental health in refugee populations (60 months), subproject within IMPROVE-MH (speaker: Prof. Dr. Silvia Schneider, Ruhr University Bochum), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
   
• 2018-2019: What are the ingredients of adversity? Examining characteristics of adverse events as predictors of character growth (18 months), funded by the Pathways to Character Project (Arizona State University and John Templeton Foundation)
   
• 2018: Loneliness and social isolation in old age (3 months), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ)
   
• 2017-2020: The motivational consequences of life satisfaction (36 months), funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG; LU 2053/2-1)
   
• 2016-2018: Developing and testing a theoretical model of the pursuit of well-being (24 months), funded by the Happiness & Well-Being Project (St. Louis University and John Templeton Foundation)

• Since 2022: Member of the Advisory Board of the Kompetenznetz Einsamkeit, e.g., consulting on the strategy against loneliness of the federal government
• 2020-2021: Permanent expert member of the Enquete Commission "Loneliness", parliament of North-Rhine Westphalia
• Regular policy consulting on loneliness on all levels (e.g., Bundestag, European Commission)
• Regular public talks on loneliness and other topics

2020: Teaching award Das Goldene Hirn (“The golden brain”)
Ruhr University Bochum

2019: Sage Young Scholar Award
Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology

2018: Teaching award Das Goldene Hirn (“The golden brain”)
Ruhr University Bochum

2016: Honourable mention for the Ruut Veenhoven Award 2016
Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organisation

2016: Teaching awards for the best lecture on the bachelor and master level
Department of Psychology, University of Cologne

2011: Best Scientific Publication 2009-2010 based on the SOEP data
German Institute for Economic Research

Since 2023: Dean of the Faculty of Psychology
Ruhr University Bochum

Since 2020: Full Professor (W3) of Psychological Methods
Ruhr University Bochum

Since 2014: DIW Research Fellow
German Institute for Economic Research

2016 - 2020: Associate Professor (W2) of Psychological Methods
Ruhr University Bochum

2014 - 2016: Assistant Professor of Methods in Personality Psychology (W1)
University of Cologne

2012 - 2013: Visiting Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago

2011 - 2012: Postdoc with Prof. Dr. John Cacioppo and Dr. Louise Hawkley
University of Chicago

2007 - 2010: Research Associate with Prof. Dr. Michael Eid
Freie Universität Berlin

2010: Doctorate (Dr. phil.)
Freie Universität Berlin

2007: Dipl.-Psych. (equivalent to M.Sc. in Psychology)
University of Koblenz-Landau

2007: Certificate in Communicational Psychology and Media Education
University of Koblenz-Landau