The Brainclinics research team

Where did you study?
I graduated in the late 90’s as a biological psychologist at Radboud University in Nijmegen. During and after this I conducted several projects in the field of applied neuroscience in Sydney (Westmead Hospital), Munich (Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry) and Scotland (Organon Research in Newhouse). I received my PhD at Utrecht University on the topic of ‘EEG-based personalized medicine for ADHD and depression’ and I am specialized in neurobiological aspects of ADHD and depression, stratified psychiatry, biomarkers and neuromodulation techniques such as TMS.

What do you do?
In 2001 I founded Research Institute Brainclinics (now part of the Brainclinics Foundation) as an independent research institute, where I further specialize in advancing the understanding of psychiatric disorders through brain imaging (QEEG, ERPs), chronobiology and sleep, Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), which knowledge should aid in a future of personalised medicine or precision psychiatry. I am further specialized in the development and application of neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic brain stimulation (rTMS) in the treatment of depression and OCD and neurofeedback in the treatment of ADHD. At Brainclinics Insights, the publishing division of the foundation, we work on knowledge dissemination through innovative and interactive educational materials

At Research Institute Brainclinics I supervise a team of PhD’s, published together with whom we published more than 170 scientific publications and 4 patents. In addition, Brainclinics Foundation researchers and PhD’s are affiliated with University of Maastricht (Dept. of Psychology & Neuroscience; Section Brain Stimulation and Cognition), where I also hold an associate professorship.

In 2006 I founded Brainclinics Treatment as a Brainclinics spin-off where new innovative treatments (rTMS, Neurofeedback) and assessments (sleep, QEEG) were pioneered and validated. This clinic was acquired by the neurocare in 2015. In addition, I was also founding director of Brainquiry (until 2007), editor of various scientific journals and books, organized many international conferences and served on the board of several international professional organisations.

Where did you study?
I graduated in Information Management at the University of Tilburg in 1997. From that time I worked in the IT sector as a project manager and business consultant.

So, you’re a project manager and business consultant?
Hahaha, no! Well kind of, after 10 years I was ready for something new where people would be much more central and I ended up at the Brainclinics Research Institute.

What do you do?
I have been working at Brainclinics in Nijmegen since January 2006 as Operations Manager. In practice I guide the background issues in the right direction so that our researchers can focus as much as possible on their field.

I’d say you’ve got your hands full, there are a lot of distractions in these times.
Sure, it keeps me busy! I also perform some background tasks for the neuroCare Group by the way.

Never a dull moment?
(Phone rings) Sorry I need to take this.

How did you get into neuropsychology?
I received my Bachelor degree in Psychology from the Université libre de Bruxelles in July 2019, and my MSc in Neuropsychology from Maastricht University in August 2020.
It was during my ERASMUS exchange program (2018) with the University of Toronto that I discovered my passion for neuropsychology. I returned to Toronto for a summer internship in Dr. Randy McIntosh’s lab, who specialises in Partial Least Squares analysis in order to characterize brain network dynamics.
I did my master internship in Dr. Donna Rose Addis’s lab in Toronto, who specializes in characterizing the processes of memory and imagination. The topic for my master thesis was determining whether performance and whole brain functional activity for emotion recognition differs between young and older adults through analysis of fMRI data.

Why Brainclinics?
When I heard how Brainclinics focuses on determining through EEG biomarkers which treatment would be most effective for patients, I had to jump onboard. I believe we should never forget that a patient is an individual and therefore a treatment for one may not help another. To be able to assess which treatment would work at an early stage will save time, money, and suffering. My current research revolves around finding QEEG biomarkers in patients with depression that will predict a positive response to psychotherapy.

Where did you study?
I did the master Biomedical Sciences: Neurobiology at the University of Amsterdam and I graduated in October 2017. I did my research internship into deep brain stimulation for depression, OCD and tinnitus at the AMC Psychiatry.

Is that knowledge in any way applicable to real world problems?
I’d say so! After my study I started a small practice for rTMS treatment for depression and OCD, called Neurowave. We’re located in Amsterdam and have helped numerous clients to improve their quality of life.

What makes you tick?
I am extremely interested in Neuroscience and neuromodulation techniques. I think it is the way forward if we want to apply stratified or perhaps even personalized medicine to disorders like, for instance, depression.
It follows that I also take a strong interest in brain networks involved in pathophysiology, and how to modulate these networks.

Managing a clinic sounds like a full time job!
Well, it is… and you need to be current with all developments in this field, which is why I also started as a PhD Candidate at The Brainclinics Foundation on the topic of neuro-cardiac guided rTMS in depression.

And why did you come to The Brainclinics foundation as a PhD candidate?
I’m trying to build a bridge between science and clinical practice, and that is one of the things Brainclinics is very good at. In fact… managing Neurowave and obtaining my PhD at Brainclinics is the perfect way to combine science and innovation with clinical practice.

Where did you study and did you graduate?
I focused on the practical and clinical side of clinical neuropsychology at the University of Groningen and graduated in August 2019.

And then.. what did you do?
Well, I started a research internship at the UMCG where I found out I really enjoy doing research and learning new topics, techniques and contributing to the current knowledge to improve (psychological) treatments. After this internship I started my master thesis on strategies used in EEG neurofeedback and that’s how I got in touch with neuroimaging techniques.

Wow. So you really like what you do?
Ha. Like is an understatement. At the UMCG I found out this was what I wanted to do: make treatments better/more efficient by looking at the biological basis of the brain, and this is exactly what I did after graduating. I started working with TMS and continued working with EEG.

And now?
I started as a Junior Researcher and PhD Candidate at Synaeda Psycho Medisch Centrum in Leeuwarden on the topic of neuro-cardiac guided rTMS in depression and I am very enthusiastic about that.