Alzheimer's disease has a great impact on the quality of life of those suffering from it, as well as on their families and friends. In an ever growing population, Alzheimer's will be part of someone's life sooner or later. The discovery of early stage markers of dementia and knowledge about its progress throughout the whole brain is of high value in current research.
Currently, I am doing research on the effects of prolonged sleep disturbances on cognition and the development of AD at the Radboudumc in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
A variety of studies in the past has shown that Alzheimer patients suffer from sleeping disorders. We think that there is a bi-directional relationship. Sleep is not ‘just’ a symptom of AD but might actually precede the disease. During sleep, waste products which accumulated over the day (amyloid-beta) get cleaned from the brain. Poor sleep or not enough sleep prevents this from happening, the result: amyloid accumulation, one of the hallmarks of AD. Poor sleep might, therefore, be one of the risk factors for developing AD.
To research this, we set up the SHIP (Sleep-Cognition Hypothesis In (maritime) Pilots) study. In this study, we investigate the effect of prolonged sleep disruptions in maritime pilots who are sleep disturbed due to their shift work. We will compare their cognitive performance to that of normal sleepers.
Interested in our results?
You can make that happen
The SCHIP study has collected a lot of interesting results which need further exploration. The research about the association between sleep and AD has only just begun! If we can mark poor sleep as one of the risk factors to develop AD, we can create more awareness for individual sleeping behavior and delay or even prevent the onset of the disease!
Imagine the impact we can make.
To continue to make an impact, this project needs funding. Let's work together
Master of Science in Neuropsychology
I am 27 years old and obtained my Master's degree in Neuropsychology at Maastricht University (UM). I am interested in researching Alzheimer's Disease (AD). More insight of why people develop AD not only contributes to a better understanding of the disease but also leads to more efficient treatment approaches and ways to prevent AD.
My experience with both clinical settings and scientific research makes me a capable researcher with a diverse toolset. Throughout the years, my curiosity for the biological mechanisms of the brain has turned my interest into an expertise on the aging brain. I have an excellent scientific background which, supplemented with a fluency in Dutch, English and German, enhances the communication with international team members and potential participants.
I love doing research. The contact with participants, the elaboration of test scores, analyzing your own data and writing it all up in a paper. It gives me energy and makes me feel like being part of something, that eventually will make the world a better place.
A big part of doing research is sharing your research ideas and results and in the course of the last years, I was able to attend different conferences, where I met great people. My first conference was a Sleep Congres (SSSC) in Lugano, Switzerland, where I was invited to talk about my project and had some interesting discussions with fellow researchers and clinicians.
In the summer of 2017, I went to London for the AAIC (Alzheimer's Association International Conference), where I presented a poster about the SCHIP study. In november 2017, I attended another conference in Ermelo (the Netherlands) with the same poster, where I won the Piet Visser Posterprice after I pitched my project to an audience.
In March 2018 I went to a sleep conference (Update @ Kempenhaeghe) at the sleep center where we also conducted some of our sleep research. I presented the most recent results of the SCHIP study.
I really like attending conferences. During a conference all the knowledge of one field comes together, with people from different backgrounds and proficiencies. I think it is a great way of sharing knowledge and creating interesting discussions besides that conferences offer great opportunities for networking. I hope I will be able to attend more conferences in the near future!
I started as a research assistant in november 2016 at the Radboudumc at the Geriatrics department. After a briefing period, where I learned a lot about the SCHIP project from my former colleague and my supervisor, I took over the whole project and made it my own.
In november 2017 I officially started my PhD. Currently, I am completing the SCHUP study and conducting follow-up studies of this project. New research ideas are currently discussed within the team about sleep intervention methods and its effect on cognition.
Clinical as well as research internship at Adelante Zorggroep under supervision of Prof. Dr. Rudolf Ponds.
During the clinical part of my internship, I collected the BAPD credits (Basisaantekening Psychodiagnostiek) and gained insights into the clinical activities of neuropsychologists, psychological test-assistants and cognitive trainers.
Besides that I also conducted my own research project with patients at Adelante which focused on dealing with daily challenges after brain injury.
I spent my exchange semester in Aarhus during which I conducted my own research with a group of experts at the Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN) in Aarhus about the effect of oxytocin on interpersonal synchronization. The project was continued with a bigger sample and was published in 2016 in Nature.
Whilst abroad I followed two additional courses which focused on personal development in old age and cognitive neuroscience.
Bachelor of Science in psychology. I especially enjoyed the courses that had a biological background: 'learning and memory', 'neuroanatomy', ‘biological psychology', 'sensation and perception', 'psychopathology' and many more inspired me to choose the Master track of Neuropsychology.
Master of Science in Neuropsychology. The Master included 4 courses, namely 'brain damage', 'behavioral disorders', 'arousal and attention' and 'aging'. I enjoyed every single one of them because they focused on the brain and its contribution to healthy or pathological changes during life.