Academic positions

• Since 2025 Research Representative of the Faculty of Computer Science, University of  Duisburg-Essen
• Since 2025 Member of the writing group of the Lancet Psychiatry Commission on problematic usage of the internet (lead: Prof. Naomi A. Fineberg)
• 2025 Guest Editor of the special issue “Controversial topics in addictive behaviours: 
• Position papers” for Addictive Behaviors Reports (together with Dr. Silke M. Müller and Prof. Silvia Casale)
• 2024 Member of the writing group of the AWMF Guidelines on internet use disorders (lead: Prof. Hans-Jürgen Rumpf)
• Since 2023 PI and work package lead in the EU Horizon project BootStRaP
• Since 2021 Member of the Senate of the University of Duisburg-Essen
• Since 2021 Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming (CERG), University of Gibraltar
• 2019–2020 Guest Editor of the special issue “Affective and cognitive processes involved in behavioral addictions” for Addictive Behaviors (together with Dr. Elisa Wegmann)
• 2018 President of the International Conference on Behavioral Addictions (ICBA), Cologne, Germany
• 2017–2022 Member of the Management Committee of the COST (Collaboration in Science and Technology) Action “European Network for Problematic Usage of the Internet” representing Germany
• 2014–2018 Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology

Academic Distinctions (selected)  

• 2025 Highly Ranked Scholar Lifetime in the Specialty Addiction, ScholarGPS
• 2025 Best Paper Bronze Prize of the International Society for Sexual Medicine
• 2017 Article of the year in Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity
• 2010 Most cited Article 2006–2010 in Neural Networks
• Teaching Awards 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021: Best Teacher Award by the student representative committee of the study program “Applied Cognitive and Media Science,” University of Duisburg-Essen

Further activities

• since 2018 Member of Editorial Board of “Addictive Behaviors”
• since 2017 Member for Germany in the Management Committee of the COST (Collaboration in Science and Technology) Action "European Network for Problematic Usage of the Internet"
• since 2017 Board Member of the “International Society for the Study of Behavioral Addictions (ISSBA)”
• since 2017 Associate Editor “Journal of Behavioral Addictions”