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Research Report 2023–2025/26

This website presents the scientific activities of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Human Development. Our magazine Spotlight – Moving Forward presents how cutting-edge research at the Institute explores the future of human development in an increasingly complex world. For those who prefer, the report and the magazine can be downloaded as PDFs here:
PDF Spotlight magazine
PDF Research Report 2023–2025/26

Research

The Institute's centers and research groups provide detailed information about their programs and the results of their scientific activities from January 2023 to March 2026. Furthermore, the Institute's emeriti share insights into their current work. The current Max Planck Fellow presents her work, while we remember the late Gert G. Wagner, former Max Planck Fellow.
Publications are listed separately. You can also learn more about our graduate programs here.

Services & Infrastructure

Excellent research requires reliable yet flexible institutional conditions. In 2024, the Board of Directors introduced a dual leadership structure and reorganized the Institute's service units accordingly. On the following pages, we introduce the newly established scientific service units—covering communications, research data, research management, and scientific technology—and present the Max Planck Dahlem Campus of Cognition (MPDCC).
 

Facts & Figures

This section completes the report with lists of academic degrees, honors and awards, scientific events, grants and stipends, and career paths. The lists of publications include all of the Institute's publications during the reporting period, the subset of joint publications resulting from Institute-wide cooperations, and the subset of Open Access publications. This information will be updated regularly until the Scientific Advisory Board Meeting in October 2026.
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Spotlight 2026 Research Report Magazine


Our magazine Spotlight – Moving Forward highlights the breadth of research carried out at the MPI for Human Development. In a curated mix of features, interviews, and project insights, the magazine offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on research in progress. It explores current research questions at the intersection of brain, behavior, and environment, showing how new ideas and methods help us better understand development across the lifespan and in a rapidly evolving world.

If you would like to read the entire magazine, you can download it here.


"The loss of a shared reality is one of the greatest threats to democratic societies"


Misinformation is increasingly shaping how societies understand reality. But why do current interventions fail to reach those who matter most? Ralph Hertwig explains why the problem runs deeper.

"Body and mind do not age separately. They are in constant conversation"


Aging is shaped by a continuous interplay between body and mind. Mara Mather explains how physiological and emotional changes influence healthy aging and outlines the questions driving her future research.

"We are opening the black box between the brain and the environment"


From urban stressors to the benefits of green spaces, environments shape mental health in powerful ways. Simone Kühn explains how research has just begun to understand the mechanisms behind these effects.

"We need to anticipate the traffic jams of AI before they happen"


New technologies often reshape society before their consequences are understood. Iyad Rahwan explains how science fiction science can help anticipate the impacts of AI.
 

"My aim is to put the pieces of the puzzle together"


From mice to humans, understanding how brains learn and adapt requires connecting many pieces of evidence. Ulman Lindenberger explains how animal models advance research on brain plasticity and healthy aging.
 

Genetics and Epigenetics in Families


The Genetics and Epigenetics in Families (GenFam) project utilizes a novel approach by combining genomic data with family-based sampling to study how genes and environments jointly shape epigenetic variation, behavior, and health.

From Experience to Memory


Our knowledge of the world grows rapidly in the first few years of life, but our memories of that time are few and far between. How does this fit together—and what does it reveal about the architecture of human memory?

 

How Learning Changes the Brain


Mareike Grotheer investigates the Biological Foundations of Cognitive Human Development.



 

Pushing MRI Beyond Its Limits


Benedikt Poser advances High-Field MRI Research at the Institute.




 
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