dr. Freek van Ede

In our research program, my team and I (the Proactive Brain Lab) investigate how the human brain prepares for upcoming behaviour: how we select, prioritise, and retain sensory information and (prepare to) translate this into goal-directed action.

We take the perspective of the brain as a fundamentally dynamic, anticipating, and action-oriented organ in which the core cognitive constructs of attention and working memory take centre stage. We have an integrative focus, bringing together research on attention and working memory with research on anticipation, timing, and action.

We try to look beyond conventional approaches, developing innovative laboratory tasks and analysis approaches to study the unfolding of these core cognitive processes – and their neural bases – in time.

We employ various methodologies in our research, including EEG, eye-tracking, psychophysics, and virtual reality.

At the Vrije Universiteit, I teach the course Cognitive Electrophysiology,  on the utility of Electroencephalography (EEG) in the cognitive neurosciences. I teach this course in the Research Master Cognitive Neuropsychology.

In addition, I supervise ample student-research projects at Bachelor and Master levels. We are generally happy to welcome motivated students to the lab, so do get in touch!

2023. Young Investigator Award, Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS)

2023. Early Career Award, British Association for Cognitive Neuroscience (BACN)

2022. Early Career Award, Dutch Society for Brain & Cognition (NVP)

2021. Rising Star Award, Association for Psychological Science (APS)

2020. Early career publication award Post-doc, European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP) for Human gaze tracks attentional focusing in memorized visual space

2020. Second prize in BRAINScapes image competition, University of Oxford, UK

2019. Recognition of excellence award, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK

2017. Recognition of excellence award, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK

2023-2028. NWO Vidi Grant, Dutch Research Council, five-year group leader position plus research team (€800,000), “Influencing the contents of mind from the outside: understanding and utilising stimulus-driven selective attention inside visual working memory”

2020-2025. ERC Starting Grant, European Research Council, five-year group leader position plus research team (€1,500,000), “Preparing memories for action: how visual working memories are sculpted by their anticipated use (MEMTICIPATION)”

2021-2022. Project grant, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (€8,500), “Mapping internal attentional selection and its microsaccadic consequences across spatial maps of the human brain”

2016-2018. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, European Commission, two-year post-doctoral position (€195,000), “How prior brain states govern access to working memory (ACCESS2WM)”

2015-2016. Newton International Fellowship, The British Academy and The Royal Society (UK), two-year post-doctoral position (€125,000), “How prior brain states shape working memory: on the role of neural oscillations in sensory cortex”

2009-2013. TOPtalent PhD scholarship, Donders Institute (The Netherlands), four-year doctorate (€225,000), “Role of neuronal oscillations in anticipation as studied in the human somatosensory system”

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