I am educated in the field of psychology and genetics and am fascinated by the way in which genetic research can elucidate not just biological pathways, but a whole range of social constructs, health-related questions etc. My current research, that I am conducting as part of my PhD project with the Netherlands Autism Register (NAR), is focused on how environmental and genetic factors influence autism. I am especially interested in how such factors influence wellbeing in autistic people. As part of my PhD project, we have added genetic data of over 800 autistic adults to the existing NAR dataset. I employ this data in the form of polygenic scores, in combination with a large set of objective environmental factors, to study its relation to i.e. anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and self-reported overall wellbeing.
I am passionate about bringing relevant research findings to stakeholders. To this end, I work together with people with lived experiences, focussing on effective communication to the public.
