Introduction

I am primarily interested in understanding how adverse early life experiences create lasting risk for psychiatric disorders. Currently, I am investigating the mechanisms underlying the effects of early life adversity using a combination of animal models of affective disorders, in vivo electrophysiological recordings, and optogenetic manipulations of neural circuits involved in stress and emotional behavior.

Training

I completed my PhD at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. My graduate work focused on the novel pathways mediating the effects of stress on cognitive processes. I discovered that endocannabinoid signaling that is also activated by cannabis is essential in stress modulation of memory. I then continued my postdoctoral training at Radboud University, examining how adverse early life experiences affect adulthood stress reactivity and cognition.