Mental mHealth Lab / Applied Psychology
The mental mHealth Lab, headed by Ulrich Ebner-Priemer, is a leading institution on mHealth approaches for mental disorders. Our work is characterized by its methodological focus on Ambulatory Assessment (sometimes also called EMA, ESM or digital phenotyping). Covered by national and international grants, we provide the technological mHealth framework, real-time compliance monitoring, and expertise on data analyses for multiple studies which
a) assess momentary mechanisms in daily life (‘EmpowerYou’, ‘STAR’, ‘START’, and ‘RELATER’, each funded by the BMBF [Federal Ministry of Education and Research) as well as ‘Eat2beNice’ funded by H2020 European Union and ‘DYNABPD’ [EB 364/6-1] funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG),
b) monitor illness trajectories over months and years (‘Mobile infrastructure for daily life research’ (S02) and ‘Intense characterization of triggers, modifying factors and mechanisms at course transition points in human addiction’ (A04), both funded within the Collaborative Research Centre TRR 265/DFG: Losing and Regaining Control over Drug Intake, and
c) provide mHealth interventions (‘TherapyBuilder’ and ‘BipoLife’, each funded by BMBF as well as ‘CoCa’ funded by H2020 European Union).
Together with our technological partner movisens, we developed an unique system of connected assessment tools with real-time analysis and feedback capabilities. Our lab has published more than 100 papers on mHealth, including outlets like Nature Neuroscience, Lancet Psychiatry, Science Advances, or Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, covering a broad range of mental disorders (Borderline personality disorder, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorders, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, alcohol use disorder, etc.). Ulrich Ebner-Priemer was president of the Society for Ambulatory Assessment (SAA), the international society for mHealth, and is the current chair of the ECNP network “digital Health”.
In addition to the CRC ‘Addiction TRR265’, the DFG is now also funding our next proposal ‘Affective Disorders CRC393’. The mental mHealth Lab is once again responsible for the mobile infrastructure and data acquisition. The CRC takes place in close co-operation with the university hospitals in Marburg, Münster, Dresden and Bonn. Further information
Irina Timm (mental mHealth Lab) has successfully published an article in the "International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity " on the topic of mood, physical behavior and weather conditions.
Mobile Sensing in Psychology: Methods and Applications
Edited by Matthias R. Mehl, Michael Eid, Cornelia Wrzus, Gabriella M. Harari, and Ulrich W. Ebner-Priemer
Further Details:
https://www.guilford.com/books/Mobile-Sensing-in-Psychology/Mehl-Eid-Wrzus-Harari/9781462553105
Mario Wenzel and Thomas Kubiak (University of Mainz), Andreas Neubauer (DIPF, Frankfurt), and Pete Koval (University of Melbourne) will contribute to our Colloquium Ambulatzory Assessment "Linking daily dynamics and momentary regulation strategies to global reports, long-term changes and personality"
Further information: Flyer (PDF)
Congratulations to Dr. Philip Santangelo on his new position at the University Luxembourg! Philip started his faculty career as associate professor for Behavioural Health Technology Interventions at University Luxembourg on 1 March 2023. Best wishes for a great career – and we are looking forward to continued close cooperation!
May 2023: DFG supports a second funding period of the project ‘Mobile infrastructure for daily life research’ from Prof. Ulrich Ebner-Priemer (KIT) within the Transregio Collaborative Research Centre ‘Losing and Regaining Control over Drug Intake: From Trajectories to Mechanisms to Interventions’ (TRR 265).
Johanna Rehder (RUB) & Irina Timm (mental mHealth Lab) receive a grant as part of the Peer Mentoring Team Program of the DGPs Division of Health Psychology on the topic: “Does physical activity contribute to psychological well-being in everyday life? The association between objectively measured physical activity and affective states in everyday life: An individual participant data metaanalysis”.
Lena Wieland receives her doctorate in October 2021 with highest distinction (summa cum laude) with her work on "Predicting Procrastination in Everyday Life: From Individual Differences in Procrastination Tendencies to Intraindividual Variability in Momentary Task Appraisal"
To the dissertation
March 2022: DFG supports the application for "own position" of Dr. Marco Giurgiu on the topic of “Experimental manipulation in everyday life: Applying an intraindividual design to test causal effects of sedentary breaks on affective and cognitive parameters”
Congratulations to Dr. Philip Santangelo on his new tenure-track position at FernUniversität Hagen! Philip Santangelo will start his faculty career as assistant professor for e-mental health and developmental psychology at FernUniversität Hagen this spring. Best wishes for a great career!
The mental mHealth Lab and the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim show in combined geolocation-triggered smartphone diaries and brain imaging that mental well-being is increased in everyday life in the company of others. The study was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Tobias Kockler received his doctorate with summa cum laude honors on the topic: "Using Ambulatory Assessment to Unravel Specific Patterns of Emotion Dysregulation and Instability in the Daily Life of Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder"
An online series on mHealth organised by the ECNP Digital Health Network to share and distribute new and high-quality research, educate junior scientists across Europe, and foster collaborations across research groups.
Flyer
The mental mHealth Lab and the Central Institute of Mental Health (Mannheim) combined geolocation-triggered Smartphone-diaries and brain imaging to unravel neurobiological mechanisms of the association of nonexercise activity and affective well-being in everyday life. The study and its results are published in Science Advances.
Press release of the KIT
article
Ulrich Ebner-Priemer et al. (2020) demonstrate empirically how to fully leverage the potential of digital phenotyping in bipolar disorders by using structural equation modelling to combine categorical and dimensional expert and self-ratings into one latent psychopathological outcome, that dimensionally fluctuates on a daily basis. article
Ulrich Ebner-Priemer was appointed as chair of the newly founded "Digital Health Applied to the Clinical Research of Brain Disorders" network of the ECNP: article
Marco Giurgiu received his doctorate with summa cum laude honors on the topic: "Sedentary behavior in daily life: assessment issues, psychological antecedents and consequences." picture
Tim Trull & Ulrich Ebner-Priemer published Reporting Guidelines for Ambulatory Assessment Research.
A new commentary by Philip Santangelo & Ulrich Ebner-Priemer highlights the promising features of digital phenotyping objective and continuous assessment in patients' daily
Marco Giurgiu (mental mHealth Lab) has successfully published an article in the "Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science In Sports" on the topic of mood and sedentary behavior.
Recommendation of the German Council for Social and Economic Data (RatSWD): "Mobile Data Collection - Data Quality and Management, Research Ethics and Data Protection" with the participation of Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ebner-Priemer is now available online.
Marco Giurgiu (mental mHealth Lab) has successfully published an article in the journal "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise" on the effect of sedentary breaks on mood.
A research team with central participation of Prof. Ulrich Ebner-Priemer and Markus Reichert from the IfSS could demonstrate that urban green space exposure directly improves the well-being in everyday life of city dwellers. The study was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Markus Reichert received his doctorate with summa cum laude honors on the topic: "Psychological antecedents and consequences of physical activity as they unfold in everyday life". Picture
Marco Giurgiu (mental mHealth Lab) has successfully published an article in the "Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science In Sports" on the topic of mood and sedentary behavior.
May 2019: DFG supports new project „Mobile infrastructure for daily life research“ from Prof. Ulrich Ebner-Priemer within the Transregio Collaborative Research Centre „Losing and Regaining Control over Drug Intake: From Trajectories to Mechanisms to Interventions“ (TRR 265).
BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) funded four new studies starting spring 2019 at the „Mental mHealth Lab“: EMPOWERYOU, START, RELATER, and SRIAS2PRACTICE.