I found my way to genetics in a roundabout way. I first did a Bachelor’s in Psychology, where I found a passion for statistics and academia. Subsequently, I switched fields to do a Master’s in Neuroscience, which filled my biology gaps. Now, as a PhD student in statistical genetics at the Complex Trait Genetics department of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, I use statistical methods to study brain-related phenotypes, thus nicely integrating both my Psychology and Neuroscience background.

While my interest in genetics runs deep, it is also broad, which shows in the range of projects I’m working on. I am currently the lead analyst of the Alzheimer’s Disease Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, where I run a large GWAS meta-analysis; I am developing a new approach to make Polygenic Scores more interpretable; and I run a cross-trait analysis of genetic sex differences.

I have also been involved in teaching, mainly in the course Genetics in Neuroscience, coordinated by Danielle Posthuma, where I designed course material, gave lectures, tutored classes, and graded exams.