Specialization
Bijzonder hoogleraar: Werkingsmechanismen en behandeling van verslaving
Focus of research
Translational and clinical research into neurobiological and psychological working mechanisms of substance use disorders and behavioral addictions. A focus on the influence of self-regulation and motivational functions on the course of addictive disorders.
Core themes of my research are the unravelling of neuropsychological mechanisms behind addictive disorders, and the study of novel (add-on) interventions in a broad group of persons, ranging from RCTs in e-health interventions (persons not in treatment) to interventions in double-diagnosis patients (addictions and psychotic disorders).
As a scientist, and from 2011 onwards as a clinician, I have had a keen interest in both fundamental research and the translation to clinically relevant research and interventions. This is also what drives me, and in the recent years I also lead applied research in clinical practice, for instance evaluating and innovating psychological interventions in addiction, and using neurocognitive screening in RCTs and datascience in e-health projects.
Neuroimaging and psychopharmacological translational studies of addictive disorders: gambling disorder, at-risk young adult cannabis users, alcohol use disorder, cocaine use disorder. Discovering the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the development and course of addictive disorders; e.g. structural and functional neuroimaging studies associated with cannabis use (MRI, DTI) and neurocognitive processes associated with changes in cannabis use over time.