My group studies the contribution of the cerebral vasculature as well as glial cells to neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. In particular, we use models of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular cognitive impairment, acute stroke, microinfarcts and amyloid angiopathy to study how changes in blood flow, the neurovascular unit and astrocytes contribute to cognitive decline and cell death in these models. To this end, we use techniques such as in vivo multiphoton microscopy, behavioral assessment, electrophysiology, transgenic manipulation, optogenetics and preclinical MRI. In addition, as the Head of the Section of Vascular Neurology at the University Hospital Bonn, I am the principal investigator of clinical trials investigating mechanisms of post-stroke dementia, small-vessel disease, vascular cognitive impairment, amyloid angiopathy, and novel treatment options for acute stroke.