Lukas Bleher

M.Sc. Psychology in Sports and Exercise

Master thesis on HRV Battery

Lukas Bleher is a sport psychology researcher based in Cologne, Germany. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and is currently completing his Master's degree in Psychology of Sport and Exercise at the German Sport University Cologne.

His Master's thesis focuses on combining psychological and physiological measures to assess cognitive performance and self-regulation in sports-related contexts. Specifically, Lukas is working with an HRV battery, examining cardiac vagal activity as a physiological marker of autonomic regulation and its relationship with cognitive task performance.

From October 2025 to October 2026, his research investigates how heart rate variability interacts with attentional control, executive functioning, and performance under varying task demands. In parallel, Lukas draws on his experience as a licensed tennis coach to connect experimental findings with applied sport settings.

Maya Meißner

B.Sc. Psychologie

Bachelor thesis on HRV Test Battery

Luisa Wonsyld

B.Sc. Psychologie

Bachelor thesis on HRV Test Battery

Esther Alvarez Carrillo

M.Sc. Applied Neuroscience in Sports and Exercise

Internship

Carlotta Frink

B.Sc. Psychologie

Internship

Laura Bartsch

B.Sc. Psychologie

Bachelor thesis with Stefan

Pedro López De La Manzanara Pérez

Grado En Ciencias De La Actividad Física Y Del Deporte

Internship

Eva Jüngerink

B.Sc. Biologie

Internship

Angelica Hovanessian

M.Sc. Psychology in Sports and Exercise

Master thesis on NEOflo belt

Angelica Hovanessian is a sport and exercise psychology researcher based in Cologne, Germany. Originally from Canada, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Toronto and is currently completing her Master's in Psychology of Sport and Exercise at the German Sport University Cologne.

Her current research focuses on the psychophysiological effects of slow-paced breathing (SPB). She is conducting a validation study for a novel haptic breathing belt, examining how haptic-guided SPB enhances cardiac vagal activity. Additionally, Angelica is investigating the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and cardiac vagal activity, exploring pathways between emotional regulation and physiological markers of resilience and recovery.

Niko Brodersen

B.Sc. Psychologie

Bachelor thesis on the pilot study for the HRV Test Battery

A pilot study is being conducted on the project "Development of a standardized HRV test battery for assessing autonomic nervous system function," which examines changes in heart rate variability (HRV) in four of the physical stress tests planned for the entire test battery. According to the vagal tank theory, the three Rs of vagal control are measured using ECG during a Valsalva maneuver, an isometric handgrip test, a cold pressor test, and a step test.

Laura Bartsch

B.Sc. Psychologie

Internship

Ana Winkler

B.Sc. Sport und Leistung

Internship

Paulina Klee

B.Sc. Psychologie

Bachelor thesis on NEOflo belt

Paulina Klee is currently finishing her B.Sc. in Psychology at the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf. With a strong interest in Sports and Performance Psychology, she researched and wrote her Bachelor's thesis externally at the German Sports University in Cologne, exploring the relationship between vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and subjective variables in slow paced breathing (SPB). In the long term, Paulina Klee aims to complete a master's degree in this field and work as a sports psychologist.

Maya Meißner

B.Sc. Psychologie

Internship

Luisa Wonsyld

B.Sc. Psychologie

Internship

Niko Brodersen

B.Sc. Psychologie

Internship 

Laura´s experience

In the Winter Semester 2025/2026, I completed my internship here at the HRV LABorde, where I gained various insights into ongoing research projects. I supported data collection, data analysis and literature research. Moreover, I had the opportunity to contribute to the Science Communication of our LAB, which was my favorite part: creating and maintaining this website, Content Creation for Social Media, lecture- and workshop preparation.

What I highly appreciated during my internship: I got hands-on experience and substantial work to do. Additionally, one's own ideas and own initiative were always supported. My tasks were enabling me to widen my horizon and learn new skills. Furthermore, I liked the open-minded and outgoing atmosphere here. I am grateful for the time that I spent here and for everything I learned!