Amsterdam Public Health

For Postdoc Appreciation Week 2026 (PAW_NL), we highlight Yuwei Qi, postdoctoral researcher at Amsterdam Public Health (APH), working at the Department of Epidemiology and Data Science at Amsterdam UMC. Her story shows how a supportive environment and growing independence help build a happy and meaningful academic path.

Variety of work

Yuwei's main role is at the Amsterdam Cohort Hub (ACH), which connects 25 cohorts to share innovative methods and best practices. She also works within the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) team, studying how people age and how their capacities change over time.

Alongside all this, she is finding her way toward her own research line and niche. She also teaches and is working on her University Teaching Qualification (BKO), and she enjoys the variety in her work: “If I work on the same task for days, I go crazy. I need something to switch my brain off.”

From survival mode to independence

While Yuwei now feels confident in her role, that wasn’t always the case. Yuwei did her PhD on health inequalities in Groningen, and experienced that period mainly as “survival mode,” focused on getting things done rather than planning her next steps. Starting her postdoc in Amsterdam gave her more autonomy and trust to lead projects herself. That change was exciting but also scary, yet it became a turning point: “I started to feel independent. I can actually do this, and if I mess up, that’s part of learning.”

Motivational environment

Yuwei’s biggest source of motivation is her environment: she is surrounded by engaged researchers who are both kind and passionate, including at the professor level. “They’re really good at what they do and willing to guide me,” she says. “I aspire to be like them.” 

Her work–life balance is also very good. She appreciates the trust and flexibility she is given in organizing her working hours, matching her tasks to her energy across the day. She also values the structural support at Amsterdam UMC and VU, which makes practical matters easier and frees up energy for research. 

This combination of a motivational environment, freedom and good organization makes her work energizing and enjoyable, and allows her to grow as a researcher. 

Be an accountable person

 For Yuwei, a successful researcher is first of all a nice, accountable person, someone who makes their work replicable and takes responsibility for the message their research brings into society. Her advice to PhD candidates and postdocs: “Try out different things, because you never know which seed you planted will grow.”