Prof. dr. dr. Elisabeth Binder was born 1971 in Vienna, Austria. She studied medicine at the University of Vienna and got her PhD in Neuroscience at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. In 2004 she became assistant Professor of the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine and is now adjunct Professor. Since 2007 Elisabeth Binder is Research group leader at the Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry. As of August 2013 she is Director and Scientific Member at this same institute.

Elisabeth Binder received various prestigious awards. She is a board member and secretary of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. Since 2014 she is member of the Executive Committee European College of Neuro-psychopharmacology. She is a reviewer for various Scientific Journals, e.g. Science, Nature, JAMA, and the Lancet.

Professor Binder will deliver the Valkhof Lecture, entitled: Epigenetics of adversity: relevance for psychiatric disorders