International Max Planck Research School on Computational Methods in Psychiatry and Ageing Research (COMP2PSYCH)

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) COMP2PSYCH serves as the graduate program of the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research. In London, the students are based at University College London (UCL); in Berlin, they are based at the MPI for Human Development and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Co-Speakers: Ulman Lindenberger, MPI for Human Development; Raymond J. Dolan, UCL
Coordinators: Silke Schäfer, MPI for Human Development; Dominique Drai, UCL

COMP2PSYCH teaches and trains concepts and methods from computer science and statistics in relation to substantive research questions in psychiatry and lifespan psychology. It was established by the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research in early 2016, was positively evaluated in 2020, and extended until September 2028. The IMPRS COMP2PSYCH is an IMPRS Type B according to the Max Planck Society's categorization, i.e., it is a smaller, project-based, time-limited undertaking for innovative research topics that will end after the (current) second funding period.

COMP2PSYCH gives predoctoral students the opportunity to learn, apply, and develop computational and statistical methods that foster our understanding of individual development from childhood to old age, with an emphasis on mental illness and healthy cognitive aging. It combines and integrates training in computer science, applied mathematics and statistics, psychology, and psychiatry with the goal of enabling the students to adapt and develop computational and statistical tools according to their data-analytic and scientific needs in the fields of psychiatry and lifespan psychology. Teaching fundamental concepts in cognitive science, lifespan psychology, and psychiatry in relation to computational and statistical theories and methods creates a superior degree of synergy between fields. In addition, the students benefit from the excellent research opportunities offered at both the Berlin and London sites. Predoctoral students have been recruited from one of the disciplines relevant to the school's program, for example cognitive neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, health science, or statistics.

During the reporting period, 11 doctoral students were active in the IMPRS COMP2PSYCH in Berlin (see Table 2). Nine worked at the MPI for Human Development: five in the Center for Lifespan Psychology (LIP), two at the Center for Environmental Neuroscience (CEN), one at the Max Planck Research Group NeuroCode (Neural and Computational Basis of Learning, Memory and Decision Making), and one at the ERC Research Group AMD (Adaptive Memory and Decision-making). In addition, two students worked at the Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Five successfully completed their dissertations and joined the growing group of COMP2PSYCH alumni. During the reporting period, 12 students worked on their dissertation projects in London (see https://www.imprs-comp2psych.mpg.de).

The three-year training program involves seminars, workshops, participation in summer schools, and collaborative supervision of research training. The focus of the Berlin site is on computational and statistical advances in studying individual differences in development from childhood to old age. Methods include structural and functional neuroimaging, computational modeling, and statistical methods for the multivariate analysis of longitudinal changes in brain and behavior. Table 3 shows the talks and workshops offered for COMP2PSYCH students during the reporting period.

The strongest integrative components of the interdisciplinary and international COMP2PSYCH program are the annual meetings in which students and faculty from all COMP2PSYCH institutions participate. Table 4 shows the Academy events that took place during the reporting period.

Furthermore, students meet on a regular basis virtually to present their upcoming, in progress, or completed research and receive in-depth feedback by students, postdocs, and faculty.