Melanie Ludwig defends her thesis successfully

On July 10th 2023, Melanie Ludwig defended her doctoral thesis at the University of Mainz. Her research project "Performance modelling based on submaximal outdoor training" investigates how a person's fitness during endurance sports can be modelled, i.e. recreated and also predicted, on the computer using only his or her heart rate. This normally requires complex tests that are difficult to implement in recreational sports. The results are intended to support health-promoting training in the optimal stress range.

Melanie Ludwig had been a scholarship holder of the Equal Opportunities Office from 2017. Since she has already been working in a new profession for half a year, she gladly took advantage of the opportunity offered by the University of Mainz to conduct the defence online. Her professor from the University of Mainz, Prof. Dr. Mark Pfeiffer from sports science, and his colleague Prof. Dr. Dr. Perikles Simon from sports medicine were there as third examiners. Doctoral supervisor Prof. Dr. Alexander Asteroth from the HBRS and the PhD candidate herself were remotely connected. She was also allowed to invite a small group consisting of two specialist colleagues, friends and family - after prior recording by name in the dean's office of the University of Mainz. The photo above shows member of the research group (from left to right): Ahmad Drak, Prof. Dr. Alexander Asteroth, Melanie Ludwig mit Eira, Dr. Alexander Hagg (photo: Aysegül Yasari).

What are your further professional plans?

"My contract at HBRS has already ended in August 2022. Since January of this year, I have been part of the team of the "Research Data Centre" at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices in Bonn. A very exciting task!

I have no plans to return to the permanent short-term contracts within academia."

Do you have any advice for our doctoral students? What would you like to pass on to those who still have the last hurdles of the doctorate ahead of them?

"Personally, it helped me immensely that I had already prepared most of my slides for the presentation at my defence before I submitted my written work. In this way, I noticed various details that I then explained and prepared differently in the dissertation so that they would be easier to understand there. It also helped me to present the "red thread" more clearly. I think it never hurts to deal with the doctoral regulations and the formalities of publication at an early stage :-)"