CONTACT
Dr. Alexandra Brahmer │ Research Associate
E-Mail: albrahme@uni-mainz.de
Tel.: 06131 / 39 37-283
Room: 00-127 (VG)
Office Hours: by appointment
Dr. rer. nat. Alexandra Brahmer is a research associate in the Department of Sports Medicine, Prevention and Rehabilitation in close collaboration with the Department of Cellular Neurobiology of the Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology (Prof. Albers). As part of her PhD, she was able to highlight that during exercise, different cell types involved in immune regulation, cardiovascular functions and regeneration release EVs into the blood in a load-dependent manner. Building on this, she is now researching the role of systemic factors (including extracellular vesicles, cell-free DNA, and cytokines) in the positive effects of regular physical activity on physical and mental health and stress resilience. Since November 2021, she is supported in this endeavor by the Mainz Research Center for Mental Health (MZPG) CONNECT - Early Career funding program.
Resilience Research - SPEER Study (Sports effects on emotion regulation and stress resilience)
Regular physical activity promotes synaptic plasticity, prevents neurodegeneration, and has a positive impact on chronic stress. In addition, there appears to be a relationship between resistance to stress (stress resilience) and physical fitness. In a randomized controlled exercise intervention study, we are investigating molecular mediators of stress resilience improvement induced by regular physical activity. The collaboration with the Institute of Physiological Chemistry, the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and the Department of Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology (University of Mainz) allows an interdisciplinary approach on many research levels.
since 11/2021
Funding by the Mainz Research Center for Mental Health (MZPG) CONNECT - Early Career Support Program. Project: „The role of extracellular vesicles and other systemic factors in the positive effects of regular physical activity on stress resilience.”
since 09/2019
Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Sports Medicine, Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Institute of Sport Sciences and the Cellular Neurobiology of the Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
08/2019
PhD in biology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz. Titel: “The exercise-triggered release of extracellular vesicles into the circulation”
2017
COST ME-HAD funded scholarship Stipendium “Short Term Scientific Mission” in der Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universität Ghent, Belgien
08/2014 – 08/2019
PhD student and research associate in the Department of Sports Medicine, Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Institute of Sport Sciences in cooperation with the Cellular Neurobiology of the Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
2008 – 2014
Study of biology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz
The association of innate and acquired aerobic capacity with resilience in healthy adults: Protocol for an eight-week randomized controlled web-based physical exercise intervention study. Ochmann DT, Philippi KFA, Zeier P, Sandner M, Hillen B, Neuberger EWI, Ruiz de Azua I, Lieb K, Wessa M, Lutz B, Simon P, Brahmer A. JMIR research protocols 10.11 (2021): e29712. doi: 10.2196/29712 PMID: 34847062
Extracellular Vesicles in neural cell interaction and CNS homeostasis. Schnatz A, Müller M, Brahmer A, Krämer-Albers EM. FASEB BioAdvances, 2021, Volume 3, Issue 8 p. 577-592. doi: 10.1096/fba.2021-00035. PMID: 34377954
Physical activity specifically evokes release of cell-free DNA from granulocytes thereby affecting liquid biopsy. Neuberger E, Sontag S, Brahmer A, Philippi KFA, Radsak MP, Wagner W, Simon P. Preprint: medRxiv 2021.09.01.21262910; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.01.21262910
Validating quantitative PCR assays for cfDNA detection without DNA extraction in exercising SLE patients. Neuberger EWI, Brahmer A, Ehlert T, Kluge K, Philippi KFA, Boedecker SC, Weinmann-Menke J, Simon P. Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 30;11(1):13581. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92826-4. PMID: 34193884
Kinetics and Topology of DNA Associated with Circulating Extracellular Vesicles Released during Exercise. Neuberger EWI, Hillen B, Mayr K, Simon P, Krämer-Albers E-M, Brahmer A. Genes, 2021 Apr 2; 12(4):522. doi: 10.3390/genes12040522. PMID: 33918465
Considerations for the Analysis of Small Extracellular Vesicles in Physical Exercise. Brahmer A, Neuberger EWI, Simon P and Krämer-Albers E-M, 2020, Front. Physiol. 11:576150 doi:10.3389/fphys.2020.576150. PMID: 33343383
“Brainstorming”: Extracellular Vesicles in Physical Activity and Neuronal Health. Brahmer A, and Krämer-Albers EM. Trillium Extracellular Vesicles, 2020, Vol. 2, 11-15
Platelets, endothelial cells and leukocytes contribute to the exercise-triggered release of extracellular vesicles into the circulation. Brahmer A, Neuberger E, Esch-Heisser L, Haller N, Jorgensen MM, Baek R, Möbius W, Simon P, Krämer-Albers EM. J Extracell Vesicles. 2019 May 28;8(1):1615820. doi: 10.1080/20013078.2019.1615820. PMID: 31191831
Non-Invasive Approach for Evaluation of Pulmonary Hypertension Using Extracellular Vesicle-Associated Small Non-Coding RNA. Lipps C, Northe P, Figueiredo R, Rohde M, Brahmer A, Krämer-Albers EM, Liebetrau C, Wiedenroth CB, Mayer E, Kriechbaum SD, Dörr O, Nef H, Hamm CW, Keller T, Troidl C. Biomolecules. 2019 Oct 29;9(11):666. doi: 10.3390/biom9110666. PMID: 31671920
Establishing PNB-qPCR for quantifying minimal ctDNA concentrations during tumour resection. Ehlert T, Tug S, Brahmer A, Neef V, Heid F, Werner C, Jansen-Winkeln B, Kneist W, Lang H, Gockel I, Simon P. Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 21;7(1):8876. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-09137-w. PMID: 28827745