Research
Why does one individual develop a psychiatric disorder and the other does not? Why does one child develop to be a healthy adult and another experiences difficulties? Individual differences in (brain) development are the result of the complex interplay between genetic vulnerability and environmental influences. The overarching topic of my research has been explaining individual differences through twin and family models, the use of magnetic resonance imaging methods and genetic data. I specifically focused on longitudinal measurements, as a trajectory over time is often more informative than a single time point, regardless of whether the question is about brain development or transition into disease. I co-lead the ENIGMA plasticity working group that studies the genetics of longitudinal changes in the brain. In the coming years, I aim to develop methodology to link biological information from various sources to shed light on the aetiology of (neuro)psychiatric disease.