Open, creative, appreciative: this is how the Volkswagen Foundation and “Die Junge Akademie” want the research environment for scientists in the early and middle stages of their careers to be. That is why they announced the award for the “Best Research Environment” for the first time in 2024. On June 7, 2025, the 24 shortlisted teams from a total of 300 applications were honored in Berlin – including the Bingellab team from the Department of Neurology at Essen University Hospital.
Dr. Livia Asan and Dr. Ezgi Arikan from Bingellab accepted the certificate. For neurologist Dr. Asan, the decisive factor at Bingellab is: “For me, the great research environment is characterized by good leadership. As young scientists, we are recognized, encouraged, empowered, supported, and challenged, and we have a really strong mentor at our side.”
Under the direction of Prof. Ulrike Bingel, the Bingellab researches the perception, modulation, and chronicity of pain as well as cognitive influences on treatments, especially placebo and nocebo effects. The interdisciplinary, diverse, and dynamic team works with a variety of approaches—from functional magnetic resonance imaging and pharmacological studies to controlled clinical trials—and in close collaboration with strong national and international partners. The Bingellab is significantly involved in several subprojects of the CRC/TRR 289.
Success factors for a productive research environment
“A good research environment promotes good science by bringing out individual strengths and combining them into a greater whole that benefits everyone,” says Prof. Bingel. Important factors for her team include space to think outside the box, inspiration at the interfaces between disciplines and research fields, and, above all, a positive, family-friendly working atmosphere.
What factors make work at the Bingellab so exciting? "Support and mentoring are very important here. In the working group, student assistants and medical doctoral students play just as important a role as PhD students and postdocs. Everyone works together in a spirit of mutual respect to produce high-quality research,“ explains psychologist Dr. Helena Hartmann. As a project leader, psychologist Dr. Katharina Schmidt emphasizes: ”I particularly appreciate the interdisciplinary exchange because it often leads to faster problem solving, but above all, it gives rise to exciting new creative research questions that one might never have come up with by oneself."
The award emphasizes the importance of a good research environment for scientific performance and the appreciation of each individual scientist, and recognizes the contribution of every member of the research community to scientific progress. It is intended to create an incentive to establish the quality of the research environment as a central quality feature for scientific organizations and to engage in the conscious design of this environment.