As of March 2026, APH researcher Anja Lok will be appointed program leader of Mental Health (MH) at Amsterdam Public Health (APH). She will succeed Femke Lamers and will co-lead the program together with Annet Kleiboer.
Lok is psychiatrist and Associate Professor at Amsterdam UMC and affiliated with the Swammerdam Institute of Life Sciences. Her research focuses on youth affective disorders and aims to better understand how biological, psychological, and environmental factors interact across the life course.
In her work, she applies an exposome perspective, examining how cumulative environmental influences contribute to mental health outcomes. In addition, she explores art–science approaches as complementary methods to engage young people in research and care.
Within the HELIUS study, Lok has served in a leadership role addressing mental health inequalities in Amsterdam’s multi-ethnic population. This experience has strengthened her interest in interdisciplinary collaboration and public health–oriented research.
As program leader, she aims to strengthen collaboration within the Mental Health program and across APH. She seeks to build bridges between programs, between career stages, and between different levels of research — from biological mechanisms to prevention strategies, and from systems research to real-world implementation. In doing so, she hopes to further connect fundamental research with clinical practice and public health impact.
Under her co-leadership, APH Mental Health will continue to build on its existing strengths and further develop its interdisciplinary profile, with the aim of contributing to meaningful impact on society.