She holds a PhD (Dr. phil., summa cum laude) from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and a Dr. rer. nat. habil. from Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, where she was guest professor in Psychology in 2020 and 2021.

The research of Olga’s group focuses on the promotion of mental and physical health across the lifespan. Olga and her team are conducting randomized controlled studies to test the causal impact of meditation-based interventions on bio-psycho-social measures, including brain functions and connectivity, emotions, as well as interpersonal and intergroup behaviour. 

Since 2017, Olga and her team are investigating the impact of socio-emotional education in various countries across the world. Olga (co-) authored over 70 publications. In recognition of her research on neural plasticity and conflict resolution, Olga has received several grants and awards, including the Early Career Award from the Society for Social Neuroscience in Washington DC, a Marie Curie Fellowship, and a Horizon2020 grant from the European Commission.