World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Clemens Kirschbaum

Clemens Kirschbaum

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Medicine
Germany
2026
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Psychology
Germany
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Psychology

D-Index
148
Citations
91716
World Ranking
83
National Ranking
3

Medicine

D-Index
149
Citations
94168
World Ranking
1190
National Ranking
59

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Medicine in Germany Leader Award
  • 2026 - Research.com Psychology in Germany Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Psychology in Germany Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Medicine in Germany Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Psychology in Germany Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Psychology in Germany Leader Award
  • 2013 - German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Psychology and Cognitive Sciences

Overview

Clemens Kirschbaum is affiliated with TU Dresden in Germany and focuses on research across neuroscience, medicine, and psychology. Their work primarily intersects the fields of behavioral neuroscience, clinical psychology, endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, biological psychiatry, and experimental and cognitive psychology.

The main topics covered in Kirschbaum's research include stress responses and cortisol, tryptophan and brain disorders, dermatology and skin diseases, cannabis and cannabinoid research, maternal mental health during pregnancy and postpartum, hormonal regulation and hypertension, and adrenal hormones and disorders.

Kirschbaum has published extensively, with notable recent papers such as:

  • Evaluation and update of the expert consensus guidelines for the assessment of the cortisol awakening response (CAR), 2022, Psychoneuroendocrinology
  • Examination of peripheral basal and reactive cortisol levels in major depressive disorder and the burnout syndrome: A systematic review, 2020, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
  • Nanosensor-Based Real-Time Monitoring of Stress Biomarkers in Human Saliva Using a Portable Measurement System, 2020, ACS Sensors
  • Determination of endocannabinoids and N-acylethanolamines in human hair with LC-MS/MS and their relation to symptoms of depression, burnout, and anxiety, 2020, Talanta
  • Hair cortisol levels in posttraumatic stress disorder and metabolic syndrome, 2020, Stress

Frequent coauthors collaborating with Kirschbaum include Andreas Walther, Marlene Penz, Wei Gao, Magdalena Wekenborg, and Tobias Stalder. These collaborations reflect overlapping interests and shared research agendas in Kirschbaum's focus areas.

The majority of Kirschbaum's publications appear in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, followed by Translational Psychiatry, bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Stress, and Scientific Reports. This distribution illustrates a focus on the interface between hormonal and psychological processes.

Kirschbaum's work in stress responses and cortisol is reflected by 126 publications, highlighting a concentrated expertise in this domain. Other notable topic areas include tryptophan and brain disorders (36 publications) and dermatology and skin diseases (28 publications).

In recognition of their contributions, Kirschbaum received the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina - Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften award in 2013, specifically within the discipline of psychology and cognitive sciences.

Best Publications

  • The ‘Trier Social Stress Test’ – A Tool for Investigating Psychobiological Stress Responses in a Laboratory Setting

    Clemens Kirschbaum;Karl-Martin Pirke;Dirk H. Hellhammer

  • Two formulas for computation of the area under the curve represent measures of total hormone concentration versus time-dependent change

    Jens C. Pruessner;Clemens Kirschbaum;Gunther Meinlschmid;Dirk H Hellhammer

  • Salivary cortisol in psychoneuroendocrine research: Recent developments and applications

    Clemens Kirschbaum;Dirk H. Hellhammer

  • Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress

    Markus Heinrichs;Thomas Baumgartner;Clemens Kirschbaum;Clemens Kirschbaum;Ulrike Ehlert

  • Impact of gender, menstrual cycle phase, and oral contraceptives on the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.

    Clemens Kirschbaum;Brigitte M. Kudielka;Jens Gaab;Nicole C. Schommer

  • Salivary cortisol in psychobiological research: an overview.

    Clemens Kirschbaum;Dirk H. Hellhammer

  • Sex differences in HPA axis responses to stress: a review

    Brigitte M. Kudielka;Clemens Kirschbaum

  • Free Cortisol Levels after Awakening: A Reliable Biological Marker for the Assessment of Adrenocortical Activity

    J.C. Pruessner;O.T. Wolf;D.H. Hellhammer;A. Buske-Kirschbaum

  • The cortisol awakening response (CAR): Facts and future directions

    Eva Fries;Lucia Dettenborn;Clemens Kirschbaum

  • Burnout, perceived stress, and cortisol responses to awakening.

    Jens C. Pruessner;Dirk H. Hellhammer;Clemens Kirschbaum

  • Stress- and treatment-induced elevations of cortisol levels associated with impaired declarative memory in healthy adults.

    C Kirschbaum;O.T Wolf;M May;W Wippich

  • A mechanism converting psychosocial stress into mononuclear cell activation.

    Angelika Bierhaus;Jutta Wolf;Martin Andrassy;Nicolas Rohleder

  • HPA axis responses to laboratory psychosocial stress in healthy elderly adults, younger adults, and children: impact of age and gender.

    B.M Kudielka;A Buske-Kirschbaum;D.H Hellhammer;C Kirschbaum

  • Assessment of the cortisol awakening response: Expert consensus guidelines.

    Tobias Stalder;Clemens Kirschbaum;Brigitte M. Kudielka;Emma K. Adam

  • Synthesis of a cortisol-biotin conjugate and evaluation as a tracer in an immunoassay for salivary cortisol measurement

    R.A. Dressendörfer;C. Kirschbaum;W. Rohde;F. Stahl

  • Consistent sex differences in cortisol responses to psychological stress.

    Clemens Kirschbaum;Stefan Wust;Dirk Hellhammer

  • The cortisol awakening response - normal values and confounds.

    Stefan Wüst;Jutta Wolf;Dirk H. Hellhammer;Ilona Federenko

  • Persistent high cortisol responses to repeated psychological stress in a subpopulation of healthy men.

    Clemens Kirschbaum;Jens C. Prüssner;Arthur A. Stone;Ilona Federenko

  • Analysis of cortisol in hair--state of the art and future directions.

    Tobias Stalder;Clemens Kirschbaum

  • Sex-specific effects of social support on cortisol and subjective responses to acute psychological stress.

    Clemens Kirschbaum;Thomas Klauer;Sigrun-Heide Filipp;Dirk Helmut Hellhammer

  • Attenuated free cortisol response to psychosocial stress in children with atopic dermatitis.

    Angelika Buske-Kirschbaum;Silke Jobst;Andrea Wustmans;Clemens Kirschbaum

Frequent Co-Authors

Tobias Stalder
Tobias Stalder University of Siegen
Dirk H. Hellhammer
Dirk H. Hellhammer University of Trier
Nicolas Rohleder
Nicolas Rohleder University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Oliver T. Wolf
Oliver T. Wolf Ruhr University Bochum
Brigitte M. Kudielka
Brigitte M. Kudielka University of Regensburg
Andrew Steptoe
Andrew Steptoe University College London
Stefan Wüst
Stefan Wüst University of Regensburg

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