March 31st, 2026
Research, Exchange, and New Impulses at the LOEWE Research Center DYNAMIC Annual Retreat 2026
In February 2026, our annual DYNAMIC Retreat took place in Gersfeld in the Rhön region. Set against a winter landscape, more than 80 participants from across the consortium, including invited guests, came together to discuss recent developments within the research consortium and to further strengthen collaboration.
The diverse program offered a well-balanced mix of scientific presentations, discussions, and insights into the current state and ongoing development of key research approaches and studies. Alongside the presentation of recent findings, a particular emphasis was placed on interdisciplinary exchange, which opened up new perspectives on mental health. Numerous members of the center contributed with their own presentations and engaged in discussions on their respective research areas.
A particular highlight of the retreat was the keynote lecture by Eiko Fried (Leiden University), who joined us from the Netherlands. In the review paper he presented, mental disorders are reconceptualized as “clusters of homeostatic properties.”
He argued that – similar to how species are defined in modern biology – there is no fixed “essence” underlying a given disorder, nor can there be. Instead, mental disorders should be understood as complex, dynamically self-regulating constellations of features that evolve over time. Any attempt to cluster these features does not reveal an absolute truth, but rather represents a more or less useful simplification. Consequently, there can be no universally valid method for categorizing mental disorders. Instead, any classification must be evaluated in terms of its usefulness for a specific purpose: in research, diagnosis, or health policy.
Following introductory overviews of the center’s research activities, David Goretzko, who has been contributing to DYNAMIC since 2025 as Professor of Methods in Psychotherapy Research in Frankfurt, delivered a talk on the use of data science and machine learning methods to advance psychometrics.
Further guest lectures were given by Hamidreza Jamalabadi and Andreas Jansen (Marburg University). Professor Jamalabadi explored the dynamics of neural and symptomatic processes in psychiatric disorders using network control theory, as well as possibilities for their targeted modulation through neural stimulation. Professor Jansen complemented these ideas with insights into the multimodal neuroimaging techniques required for their implementation.
The ideas presented by Eiko Fried were met with great interest by the audience, sparking lively discussion and providing important impulses for further reflection.
Many other contributions from members of the consortium would equally deserve mention. We would, however, like to highlight three additional presentations in particular.
Nils Winter (University of Münster) also contributed, focusing on the intersections between neuroscience, machine learning, and psychiatry.
The 2026 retreat once again provided an inspiring platform for scientific exchange, networking, and the further development of shared research goals. The strong participation, along with the diversity of contributions and invited guests, will continue to shape collaboration within the LOEWE Research Center DYNAMIC and guide its future direction within the complex field of mental health research.
