CV

Work experience

since 2024: Emmy Noether Research Group Leader (MIND-CHILD), University Hospital Frankfurt
since 2017: Head of Clinical Research, University Hospital Frankfurt
since 2016: Freelance Lecturer in Postgraduate Psychotherapy Training
2015-2017: Deputy Head of the Autism Research Group, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim
2013-2015: Study Coordinator (EU-AIMS LEAP), Central Insitute of Mental Health
2013: Research Assistant, Research Unit for Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University

Education

2021: Clinical Training in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Heidelberg and Marburg (Germany)
2017: Ph.D. in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health
2013: M.S. in Developmental and Clinical Psychology, Heidelberg University
2010: B.S. in Psychology, Heidelberg University, 2010

Funding:

2027-2030: Emmy Noether Programme (part 2, after evaluation of part 1), 966,000 €
2024-2027: Emmy Noether Programme (part 1), 962,000 €
2022-2025: German Research Foundation (DFG Sachbeihilfe), 210,000 €
2021-2024: Medical Faculty Frankfurt, Research Fund for Excellent ECRs, 45,000€
2023-2025: Daimler & Benz Foundation, Scholarship for Advanced Postdocs, 40,000€
2020-2022: Polytechnic Foundation, Main Campus Educator Scholarship, 10,000€
2019-2020: Paul und Ursula Klein Stiftung, GRADE, Start-up funds, 9,000€
2023: Johanna Quandt Young Academy, R3 Career Support, 4,000€
2023: Adickes Foundation, Research Support, 2,400€
2018: Medical Faculty Frankfurt, Travel funds, 1,500€

Peer Recognition

2024: Herman-Emminghaus-Prize
2023: Declined offer for a tenured professorship (W2, Charlotte Fresenius University)
2023: Shortlisted for a tenured professorship (W3, University of Freiburg)
2022: Associate Fellowship of the Johanna Quandt Young Academy
2022: Weber-Bosch Prize
2022: Top 15 Reviewer Award
2020: Research Fellowship of the Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience Frankfurt
2018 – 2021: Various Poster Awards

Scientific Skills

Data Science (R, Python)
Experimental Design (Psychopy, Psychtoolbox-3, Lab Streaming Layer)
Methodological Diversity (Eye-Tracking, Pupillometry, Behavior)

Publications

Validation of the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition in Adolescents with ASD: Fixation Duration and Pupil Dilation as Predictors of Performance

Nico Mueller, Sarah Baumeister, Isabel Dziobek, Tobias Banaschewski, Luise Poustka, "Validation of the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition in Adolescents with ASD: Fixation Duration and Pupil Dilation as Predictors of Performance." Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2016.

The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP): design and methodologies to identify and validate stratification biomarkers for autism spectrum disorders

Eva Loth, Tony Charman, Luke Mason, Julian Tillmann, Emily JH Jones, Caroline Wooldridge, Jumana Ahmad, Bonnie Auyeung, Claudia Brogna, Sara Ambrosino, Tobias Banaschewski, Simon Baron-Cohen, Sarah Baumeister, Christian Beckmann, Michael Brammer, Daniel Brandeis, Sven Bolte, Thomas Bourgeron, Carsten Bours, Yvette De Bruijn, Bhismadev Chakrabarti, Daisy Crawley, Ineke Cornelissen, Flavio Dell"Acqua, Guillaume Dumas, Sarah Durston, Christine Ecker, Jessica Faulkner, Vincent Frouin, Pilar Garces, David Goyard, Hannah Hayward, Lindsay M Ham, Joerg Hipp, Rosemary J Holt, Mark H Johnson, Johan Isaksson, Prantik Kundu, Meng-Chuan Lai, Xavier Liogier D’ardhuy, Michael V Lombardo, David J Lythgoe, Rene Mandl, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Carolin Moessnang, Nico Mueller, Laurence O’dwyer, Marianne Oldehinkel, Bob Oranje, Gahan Pandina, Antonio M Persico, Amber NV Ruigrok, Barbara Ruggeri, Jessica Sabet, Roberto Sacco, Antonia San Jose Caceres, Emily Simonoff, Roberto Toro, Heike Tost, Jack Waldman, Steve CR Williams, Marcel P Zwiers, Will Spooren, Declan GM Murphy, Jan K Buitelaar, "The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP): design and methodologies to identify and validate stratification biomarkers for autism spectrum disorders." Molecular Autism, 2017.

The EU-AIMS longitudinal european autism project (LEAP): clinical characterisation

Tony Charman, Eva Loth, Julian Tillmann, Daisy Crawley, Caroline Wooldridge, David Goyard, Jumana Ahmad, Bonnie Auyeung, Sara Ambrosino, Tobias Banaschewski, Simon Baron-Cohen, Sarah Baumeister, Christian Beckmann, Sven Bolte, Thomas Bourgeron, Carsten Bours, Michael Brammer, Daniel Brandeis, Claudia Brogna, Yvette De Bruijn, Bhismadev Chakrabarti, Ineke Cornelissen, Flavio Dell"Acqua, Guillaume Dumas, Sarah Durston, Christine Ecker, Jessica Faulkner, Vincent Frouin, Pilar Garces, Lindsay Ham, Hannah Hayward, Joerg Hipp, Rosemary J Holt, Johan Isaksson, Mark H Johnson, Emily JH Jones, Prantik Kundu, Meng-Chuan Lai, Xavier Liogier D’ardhuy, Michael V Lombardo, David J Lythgoe, Rene Mandl, Luke Mason, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Carolin Moessnang, Nico Mueller, Laurence O’dwyer, Marianne Oldehinkel, Bob Oranje, Gahan Pandina, Antonio M Persico, Barbara Ruggeri, Amber NV Ruigrok, Jessica Sabet, Roberto Sacco, Antonia San Jose Caceres, Emily Simonoff, Roberto Toro, Heike Tost, Jack Waldman, Steve CR Williams, Marcel P Zwiers, Will Spooren, Declan GM Murphy, Jan K Buitelaar, "The EU-AIMS longitudinal european autism project (LEAP): clinical characterisation." Molecular autism, 2017.

EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP): the autism twin cohort.

Isaksson J, Tammimies K, Neufeld J, Cauvet E, Lundin K, Buitelaar JK, Loth E, Murphy DGM, Spooren W, Boelte S, EU-AIMS group, "EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP): the autism twin cohort.." Molecular autism, 2018.

The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system as pacemaker of attention–A developmental mechanism of derailed attentional function in autism spectrum disorder

Nico Bast, Luise Poustka, Christine Freitag, "The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system as pacemaker of attention--A developmental mechanism of derailed attentional function in autism spectrum disorder." European Journal of Neuroscience, 2018.

Altered Connectivity Between Cerebellum, Visual, and Sensory-Motor Networks in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results from the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project.

Oldehinkel M, Mennes M, Marquand A, Charman T, Tillmann J, Ecker C, Dell'Acqua F, Brandeis D, Banaschewski T, Baumeister S, Moessnang C, EU-AIMS group, "Altered Connectivity Between Cerebellum, Visual, and Sensory-Motor Networks in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results from the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project.." Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, 2019.

Investigating the factors underlying adaptive functioning in autism in the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project.

Tillmann J, San A, Chatham CH, Crawley D, Holt R, Oakley B, Banaschewski T, Baron-Cohen S, Boelte S, Buitelaar JK, Durston S, Ham L, EU-AIMS group, "Investigating the factors underlying adaptive functioning in autism in the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project.." Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2019.

Pupil Dilation Progression Modulates Aberrant Social Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Nico Bast, Tobias Banaschewski, Isabel Dziobek, Daniel Brandeis, Luise Poustka, Christine Freitag, "Pupil Dilation Progression Modulates Aberrant Social Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder." Autism Research, 2019.

Pupil dilation during visuospatial orienting differentiates between autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Sara Boxhoorn, Nico Bast, Hans Super, Leonie Polzer, Hannah Cholemkery, Christine Freitag, "Pupil dilation during visuospatial orienting differentiates between autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder." Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2019.

Study protocol of the multi-centre, randomised controlled trial of the Frankfurt Early Intervention Programme A-FFIP versus early intervention as usual for toddlers and preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (A-FFIP study)

Janina Kitzerow, Matthes Hackbusch, Katrin Jensen, Meinhard Kieser, Michele Noterdaeme, Ulrike Froehlich, Regina Taurines, Julia Geissler, Nicole Wolff, Veit Roessner, Nico Bast, Karoline Teufel, Ziyon Kim, Christine Freitag, "Study protocol of the multi-centre, randomised controlled trial of the Frankfurt Early Intervention Programme A-FFIP versus early intervention as usual for toddlers and preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (A-FFIP study)." Trials, 2020.

Saccade dysmetria indicates attenuated visual exploration in autism spectrum disorder

Nico Bast, Luke Mason, Christine Freitag, Tim Smith, Ana Portugal, Luise Poustka, Tobias Banaschewski, Mark and, "Saccade dysmetria indicates attenuated visual exploration in autism spectrum disorder." Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2020.

Attenuated Anticipation of Social and Monetary Rewards in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Sarah Baumeister, Carolin Moessnang, Nico Bast, Sarah Hohmann, Julian Tillmann, David Goyard, Tony Charman, Sara Ambrosino, Simon Baron-Cohen, Christian Beckmann, Sven Boelte, Thomas Bourgeron, Annika Rausch, Daisy Crawley, Flavio Dell'Acqua, Guillaume Dumas, Sarah Durston, Christine Ecker, Dorothea Floris, Vincent Frouin, Hannah Hayward, Rosemary Holt, Mark Johnson, Emily Jones, Meng-Chuan Lai, Michael Lombardo, Luke Mason, Marianne Oldehinkel, Tony Persico, Antonia C{\'{a}}ceres, Thomas Wolfers, Will Spooren, Eva Loth, Declan Murphy, Jan Buitelaar, Heike Tost, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Tobias Banaschewski, Daniel and, "Attenuated Anticipation of Social and Monetary Rewards in Autism Spectrum Disorders." BioRxiv, 2020.

Repetitive Behavior in Children and Adolescents: Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised

Isabella Kaestel, Leonora Vllasaliu, Sophia Wellnitz, Hannah Cholemkery, Christine Freitag, Nico Bast, "Repetitive Behavior in Children and Adolescents: Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised." Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2020.

Dissecting the phenotypic heterogeneity in sensory features in autism spectrum disorder: a factor mixture modelling approach.

Tillmann J, Uljarevic M, Crawley D, Dumas G, Loth E, Murphy D, Buitelaar J, Charman T, AIMS-2-TRIALS group, "Dissecting the phenotypic heterogeneity in sensory features in autism spectrum disorder: a factor mixture modelling approach.." Molecular autism, 2020.

The Revised Children’s Communication Checklist-2: Factor Structure and Psychometric Evaluation

Sophia Wellnitz, Isabella Kaestel, Leonora Vllasaliu, Hannah Cholemkery, Christine Freitag, Nico Bast, "The Revised Childrentextquotesingles Communication Checklist-2: Factor Structure and Psychometric Evaluation." Autism Research, 2021.

Atypical Arousal Regulation in Children With Autism but Not With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as Indicated by Pupillometric Measures of Locus Coeruleus Activity

Nico Bast, Sara Boxhoorn, Hans Super, Bartosz Helfer, Leonie Polzer, Christoph Klein, Hannah Cholemkery, Christine Freitag, "Atypical Arousal Regulation in Children With Autism but Not With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as Indicated by Pupillometric Measures of Locus Coeruleus Activity." Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 2021.

Atypical Brain Asymmetry in Autism-A Candidate for Clinically Meaningful Stratification.

Floris DL, Wolfers T, Zabihi M, Holz NE, Zwiers MP, Charman T, Tillmann J, Ecker C, Dell'Acqua F, Banaschewski T, Moessnang C, Baron-Cohen S, Holt R, EU-AIMS Group, "Atypical Brain Asymmetry in Autism-A Candidate for Clinically Meaningful Stratification.." Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, 2021.

Temporal Profiles of Social Attention Are Different Across Development in Autistic and Neurotypical People.

Del T, Mason L, Charman T, Tillman J, Loth E, Hayward H, Shic F, Buitelaar J, Johnson MH, Jones EJH, EU-AIMS Group, "Temporal Profiles of Social Attention Are Different Across Development in Autistic and Neurotypical People.." Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, 2021.

Preference for biological motion is reduced in ASD: implications for clinical trials and the search for biomarkers.

Mason L, Shic F, Falck-Ytter T, Chakrabarti B, Charman T, Loth E, Tillmann J, Banaschewski T, Baron-Cohen S, Boelte S, Buitelaar J, Durston S, LEAP Team*, "Preference for biological motion is reduced in ASD: implications for clinical trials and the search for biomarkers.." Molecular autism, 2021.

An German Short-Version of the "Sensory Perception Quotient" for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Klein C, Miczuga T, Kost MS, Roering H, Jarczok TA, Bast N, Thiemann U, Fleischhaker C, Tebartz L, Riedel A, Biscaldi M, "An German Short-Version of the "Sensory Perception Quotient" for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder.." Frontiers in psychiatry, 2022.

In-depth characterization of neuroradiological findings in a large sample of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and controls.

Ambrosino S, Elbendary H, Lequin M, Rijkelijkhuizen D, Banaschewski T, Baron-Cohen S, Bast N, Baumeister S, Buitelaar J, Charman T, Crawley D, Durston S, "In-depth characterization of neuroradiological findings in a large sample of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and controls.." NeuroImage. Clinical, 2022.

Interindividual Differences in Cortical Thickness and Their Genomic Underpinnings in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Ecker C, Pretzsch CM, Bletsch A, Mann C, Schaefer T, Ambrosino S, Tillmann J, Yousaf A, Chiocchetti A, Lombardo MV, Warrier V, Bast N, Moessnang C, Murphy DGM, "Interindividual Differences in Cortical Thickness and Their Genomic Underpinnings in Autism Spectrum Disorder.." The American journal of psychiatry, 2022.

Resting state EEG power spectrum and functional connectivity in autism: a cross-sectional analysis.

Garces P, Baumeister S, Mason L, Chatham CH, Holiga S, Dukart J, Jones EJH, Banaschewski T, Baron-Cohen S, Boelte S, Buitelaar JK, Durston S, EU-AIMS group, "Resting state EEG power spectrum and functional connectivity in autism: a cross-sectional analysis.." Molecular autism, 2022.

Qualitative differences in the spatiotemporal brain states supporting configural face processing emerge in adolescence in autism.

Haartsen R, Mason L, Garces P, Gui A, Charman T, Tillmann J, Johnson MH, Buitelaar JK, Loth E, Murphy D, Jones EJH, EU-AIMS group, "Qualitative differences in the spatiotemporal brain states supporting configural face processing emerge in adolescence in autism.." Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 2022.

Arousal-modulated memory encoding and retrieval in adults with autism spectrum disorder.

Bast N, Gaigg SB, Bowler DM, Roessner V, Freitag CM, Ring M, "Arousal-modulated memory encoding and retrieval in adults with autism spectrum disorder.." Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2022.

Genetic correlates of phenotypic heterogeneity in autism.

Warrier V, Zhang X, Reed P, Havdahl A, Moore TM, Cliquet F, Leblond CS, Rolland T, Rosengren A, EU-AIMS group, IPSYCH-Autism group, Baron-Cohen S, "Genetic correlates of phenotypic heterogeneity in autism.." Nature genetics, 2022.

Pupillometric measures of altered stimulus-evoked locus coeruleus-norepinephrine activity explain attenuated social attention in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder.

Polzer L, Freitag CM, Bast N, "Pupillometric measures of altered stimulus-evoked locus coeruleus-norepinephrine activity explain attenuated social attention in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder.." Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2022.

Processing of social and monetary rewards in autism spectrum disorders

Sarah Baumeister, Carolin Moessnang, Nico Bast, Sarah Hohmann, Pascal Aggensteiner, Anna Kaiser, Julian Tillmann, David Goyard, Tony Charman, Sara Ambrosino, EU-AIMS group, "Processing of social and monetary rewards in autism spectrum disorders." The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2023.

Sensory salience processing moderates attenuated gazes on faces in autism spectrum disorder: a case-control study

Nico Bast, Luke Mason, Christine Ecker, Sarah Baumeister, Tobias Banaschewski, Emily Jones, Declan Murphy, Jan Buitelaar, Eva Loth, Gahan Pandina, EU-AIMS LEAP group, Christine M. Freitag, "Sensory salience processing moderates attenuated gazes on faces in autism spectrum disorder: a case-control study." Molecular Autism, 2023.

Fluid Intelligence Is (Much) More than Working Memory Capacity: An Experimental Analysis

Dirk Hagemann, Max Ihmels, Nico Bast, Andreas Neubauer, Andrea Schankin, Anna-Lena Schubert, "Fluid Intelligence Is (Much) More than Working Memory Capacity: An Experimental Analysis." Journal of Intelligence, 2023.

Nico Bast

CV