JS

Professorship for Sensory Neuroengineering

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Janna is a physicist with a broad curiosity that has repeatedly led her to explore new scientific domains. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physics at Georg-August-University Göttingen, initially driven by a fascination with the universe and a desire to become an astrophysicist. During her Bachelor’s thesis, she encountered medical physics for the first time, where she studied cardiac excitation patterns underlying arrhythmias in mouse hearts. This experience sparked a lasting interest in physiological systems and motivated her to pursue a Master’s degree in Medical Physics at Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf.  

For her PhD, Janna moved to Erlangen, where her curiosity once again led her to pivot fields – this time toward auditory neuroscience. Her current research investigates how attention modulates auditory processing at its very earliest stage: the cochlea. In particular, she studies speech-evoked distortion product otoacoustic emissions to better understand how cognitive processes interact with peripheral auditory mechanisms.  

Across all stages of her training, a common thread has been her enthusiasm for learning, crossing disciplinary boundaries, and approaching complex systems with quantitative tools. Outside the lab, Janna enjoys going to the theater and loves dancing – activities that, in their own way, also celebrate rhythm, timing, and attentive listening. 

  • Steinebach, Janna, and Tobias Reichenbach. 2025. “Attention to Speech Modulates Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions Evoked by Speech-Derived Stimuli in Humans.” bioRxiv 2025.08.15.670505. doi:10.1101/2025.08.15.670505.
  • Diaz-Maue, Laura, Janna Steinebach, and Claudia Richter. 2022. “Patterned Illumination Techniques in Optogenetics: An Insight Into Decelerating Murine Hearts.” Frontiers in Physiology 12. doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.750535.
  • Diaz-Maue, Laura, Janna Steinebach, Michael Schwaerzle, Stefan Luther, Patrick Ruther, and Claudia Richter. 2021. “Advanced Cardiac Rhythm Management by Applying Optogenetic Multi-Site Photostimulation in Murine Hearts.” Journal of Visualized Experiments. doi:10.3791/62335.