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Dr. Mareike Grotheer, psychologist at Philipps University of Marburg, has been awarded a LOEWE Start Professorship, funded with around two million euros over six years. Her research investigates how the human brain develops during childhood and when learning new skills. The funding also strengthens the “The Adaptive Mind” cluster of excellence, in which Dr. Grotheer is involved. Science Minister Timon Gremmels praises her work, saying, “Dr. Mareike Grotheer is investigating how the unique human ability to learn can be explained. In doing so, she is making valuable contributions to developmental research and providing new approaches for dealing with learning disorders.”

Her work focuses on how the human brain changes during its development. Dr. Grotheer's team combines state-of-the-art imaging techniques with behavioral measurements to explore the biological foundations of learning. In earlier studies, she was able to show that mathematical and reading skills are processed largely in parallel in the brain and which mechanisms influence brain maturation in infancy.

After studying biology and neuroscience, Dr. Grotheer earned her doctorate in psychology. She conducted research at Stanford University with a DFG scholarship, where she received two innovation grants. In 2021, she took over as head of the Educational Neuroscience Lab in Marburg and is a subproject leader in the Collaborative Research Center “Cardinal Mechanisms of Perception.” In 2024, she also won a Starting Grant from the European Research Council.