Prof. Dr. Christian Kandler
Christian Kandler received his diploma in psychology in 2007 at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. After his graduation, he conducted research and taught as a research assistant (2007-2012), assistant professor (2012-2016) and interim professor (2016-2017) at the Bielefeld University. There, he completed his doctorate thesis in 2010, entitled “The Nature of Personality: Validity, Continuity and Interaction of the Genetic Make-up and Environment”, and received the venia legendi in psychology in 2017; his habilitation thesis was entitled “Genotype-Environment Interplay of Personality Development”. He was a professor at the MSB Medical School Berlin (2017-2018) and was professor of Personality Psychology and Psychological Assessment at the University of Bremen (2018-2025).
From October 2015 to December 2023, he supervised the SPeADy research project. His research on the patterns and sources of personality differences and development has been honored multiple times. Now, he is the head of the Personality Psychology, Psychological Assessment and Behavioural Genetics (3PAG) lab at the Department of Psychology of the Bielefeld University.
Dr. Jana Instinske
Jana Instinske completed her Master of Science in 2022 at the University of Bremen. In her master thesis, she was working on the sources and common structure of self-esteem, self-efficacy, internal control beliefs, and emotional stability. In 2023, she won the award for the best master thesis from the German research society of Differential Psychology, Personality Psychology and Psychological Assessment. From August 2022 to September 2025, Jana Instinske worked as a research assistant in the work group on Personality Psychology and Psychological Assessment at the University of Bremen. In May 2025, she finished her doctoral thesis on “How to (not) Disentangle Personality Constructs: Scrutinizing Longitudinal, Multi-Rater and Behavioural Genetic Approaches” based on three scientific papers using the SPeADy data. Since October 2025, she is working in the Personality Psychology, Psychological Assessment and Behavioural Genetics (3PAG) lab at the Department of Psychology of the Bielefeld University.
Former Team Members
Dr. Yannik Wiechers (Universität Bremen)
Dr. Alexandra Zapko-Willmes (Universität Siegen)
Annika Overlander (Universität Konstanz)
Fynn Plugge (Universität Bremen)
Jantje Bollmann (Universität Bremen)
Sophie Walter (Universität Bremen)
Corinna Eickes (Universität Bremen)
Jana Willemsen (Universität Bremen)
Elif Yalcin (Universität Bremen)
Julia Richter (Universität Bielefeld)
Angelika Penner (Universität Bielefeld)
Hannah Sarnizei (Universität Bielefeld)
Paula Wundersee (MSB Medical School Berlin)
Rebecca Gruzman (MSB Medical School Berlin)
Felix Butt (MSB Medical School Berlin)
Pauline Hirche (Universität Bielefeld)
Julia Schneider (Universität Bielefeld)
Michael Papendick (Universität Bielefeld)
Kai Tippelt (Universität Bielefeld)