Dr. Lieben studied Biological Neuropsychology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and obtained her PhD degree at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology investigating the role of serotonin on affective and cognitive behavior. She developed a method using a gelatin based protein-carbohydrate mixture to study the effects of reduced tryptophan availability on cerebral biochemical processes and behavior in rodents and humans. Dr. Lieben did an internship at Roche Pharmaceutical (Palo Alto, CA, USA) to learn more about psychopharmacology, test validation and project management. As postdoctoral fellow at Maastricht University she conducted translational research on dietary intervention to study the relationship between tryptophan metabolism and cognition. In December 2013, Dr. Lieben was appointed as a Research Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University.
Main research aims are 1) to elucidate the mechanism by which the metabolism of amino acids such as tryptophan is involved in neuropsychological functions in older adults or people with a chronic disease or condition such as multiple sclerosis, dementia, obesity, autism, and 2) to develop an efficient nutritional intervention for preventing or attenuating affective disturbances and cognitive decline in at-risk individuals. Please click here for Dr. Lieben’s publications.
