Our Team

Our team at the Performance Psychophysiology Lab brings together a diverse group of researchers and students dedicated to understanding the physiological foundations of human performance.

Led by Prof. Dr. Sylvain Laborde, our group includes PhD candidates (Stefan, Maša, Caterina, Ismael, Matt, and others), Master's and Bachelor students, interns, and alumni. Each member contributes unique expertise in areas such as heart rate variability, stress regulation, and applied performance science.

Together, we combine rigorous research, applied projects, and interdisciplinary collaboration to explore how the mind and body interact to support optimal performance across sport and everyday life.

Sylvain Laborde

Dr. Sylvain Jean Pascal Laborde is a leading researcher in performance psychophysiology at the German Sport University Cologne. His work centers on heart rate variability (HRV) as a marker of self-regulation, emotional intelligence, and performance under pressure. He is the originator of the Vagal Tank Theory, which conceptualizes how autonomic flexibility supports stress resilience and recovery.

Beyond his research, Sylvain advocates for science communication — for instance, through science slams — and applies his insights in practical settings, including mental training for athletes and musicians.

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PhD students

Maša Iskra

Maša Iskra is a doctoral student at the Department of Performance Psychophysiology at DSHS Cologne. In her project, she is investigating the influences of psychophysiological activation induced through slow- and fast-paced breathing on decision processes. Her research interests encompass paced breathing techniques, motor-cognitive performance, embodied cognition, and decision processes in daily life and sports.

Taking a physiological approach to cognition, Maša's methodological skills include ECG, ICG, skin conductance, and respiration, as well as evidence synthesis through meta-analyses, systematic, and scoping reviews. She is completing her PhD within the scope of the Embodied Choices Graduate School Cologne.

Maša Iskra

Stefan Ackermann

Stefan Ackermann is a PhD student in the Department of Performance Psychology at the German Sport University Cologne. His research focuses on emotional intelligence, cardiac vagal activity, and the impact of the diving response on both vagal and sympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system.

He combines fundamental psychophysiological research with applied perspectives, exploring how physiological interventions can inform and improve performance and resilience in both sport and everyday (especially school and work related) contexts.

Stefan Ackermann

Caterina Salvotti

Caterina Salvotti is a doctoral candidate in the Performance Psychophysiology Group at the German Sport University Cologne. Her research explores how breathing techniques influence the autonomic nervous system, heart, and brain activity. Alongside her academic work, she integrates research-informed and yoga-informed approaches to promote wellbeing and performance in several settings, including sport, work, and everyday life.

Caterina Salvotti

Ismael Pedraza Ramírez

Ismael Alfonso Pedraza Ramírez is a PhD candidate in the Performance Psychophysiology group at DSHS Cologne. His research engages with heart rate variability as a physiological index of stress and recovery and examines how these processes affect cognitive and motor performance under pressure. As he is part of G2, a successful team in esports he is connects his knowledge with this interesting field of sport.

Ismael Pedraza

Matthew Watson

Matthew "Matt" Watson is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Performance Psychology at the German Sport University Cologne. His work centers around psychophysiological mechanisms in performance contexts, particularly how autonomic nervous system dynamics (e.g., HRV) and cognitive processes interact to affect resilience, decision-making, and adaptation in sport and performance domains. He connects his expertise with the field of esports as he is a performance coach and focuses his research on helping other coaches in esports.

Matthew Watson

Check out our latest work:

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Research

Science never stops and neither do we. Meet the whole team contributing to our research everyday:

Alumni

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to our alumni for their important contributions to the scientific work and collaborative atmosphere of the lab.

Alumni