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Katja Umla-Runge  Runge, PhD, Dipl Saarbruecken

Dr Katja Umla-Runge

(she/her)

Runge, PhD, Dipl Saarbruecken

Lecturer, Interim Programme Director, MSc Psychiatry

School of Medicine

cymraeg
Welsh speaking

Overview

Research summary

I am  interested in how our brain enables us to perceive and memorize information and  how this is influenced by contextual factors. My current research involves  looking at the contribution of medial temporal lobe and extrastriate subregions  to the representation of different categories of visual stimuli in perceptual  and memory tasks. Furthermore, I study brain functional and behavioural  differences between carriers and non-carriers of the APOE-ε4 allele with the  aim to understand what makes carriers more likely to develop poorer cognitive  health later in their lives. I have also investigated the role of the action  observation system in the representation of actions in memory and am interested  in cross-cultural research.

Teaching summary

I have  been involved in teaching research methods and cognitive neuroscience for  undergraduate and postgraduate students. I co-supervised and supervised Diploma  and Bachelor theses in cognitive neuroscience and currently co-supervise four  PhD students.

Publication

2023

2022

2021

2019

2016

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Adrannau llyfrau

Cynadleddau

Erthyglau

Research

Funding

My research has been funded by the BBSRC, the Wellcome Trust and the  German Research Foundation.

Research group

I am part of the Cognitive Neuroscience research group.

Research collaborators

Paul Downing (Bangor University, UK)
Xiaolan Fu (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Bronson Harry (Bangor University, UK)
Matthew Mundy (Monash University, Australia)
Kui Wang (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Lamei Wang (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Hubert Zimmer (Saarland University, Germany)

Biography

Undergraduate education

1999 - 2005: Studies in psychology at Saarland  University, Saarbrücken and Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

2005: Diploma in psychology at Saarland University, Saarbrücken

Postgraduate education

2006 - 2011: PhD  student at the Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken

2009: Research visit at the Institute of  Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

2011: PhD in  psychology at Saarland University, Saarbrücken. Thesis title: “Representing  Actions in Memory - Neural Correlates and a Cross-Cultural Approach”.

Employment

From 2015: Lecturer at the School of Psychology, Cardiff University,  UK.

2012 - 2015: Postdoctoral research associate at the School of  Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.

2008 - 2011: Doctoral scholarship within the International  Research Training Group "Adaptive Minds - Neural and Environmental  Constraints on Learning and Memory". Saarland University, Saarbrücken,  Germany and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Honours and awards

Awards/external committees

2008 - 2011: Doctoral scholarship within the International  Research Training Group "Adaptive Minds - Neural and Environmental  Constraints on Learning and Memory".    Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany and Chinese Academy of Sciences,  Beijing, China.