Laura de Nooij

PhD Candidate

My main research interests are interdisciplinary with a particular interest in translational research within the field of biological psychiatry. I would like my research to have implications for psychiatry or mental health, and would like to contribute to the development of personalised treatment and more accurate predictions on the level of the individual.

For my PhD I am supervised by Erno Hermans, Benno Roozendaal, Gert-Jan Hendriks and Robbert-Jan Verkes. I am working on the "Cortisol voor PTSS" (CovoS) study (funded by ZonMW). This is a translational pharmacological intervention and neuroimaging study with participants affected by Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In this study, we investigate relationships between early life adversity, epigenetic mechanisms, and cortisol release by the stress response system (HPA axis). Furthermore, we investigate the hypothesis that glucocorticoid administration can improve fear extinction specifically for those patients with dysregulation in the stress response system. This could potentially translate to improved, personalised treatment for PTSD by means of pharmacologically-enhanced psychotherapy.

Before joining the CAN lab, I obtained Bachelor’s degrees in Psychobiology and Psychology, and graduated from the Research Master’s Psychology at University of Amsterdam. During my Master’s study I combined research with an internship in Clinical Neuropsychology to gain some clinical experience. For my master thesis project I went to University of Edinburgh, Division of Psychiatry, where I subsequently obtained a one-year research position. Here my research focussed on associations between depression, cognition and the brain which I investigated within large-scaled cohorts (e.g. UK Biobank) using statistical modelling.

Also, when living in Scotland I discovered the Great Outdoors, and I have a cat named Roti.

Contact

  • Kapittelweg 29
    Room 01.162
    6525 EN Nijmegen
    The Netherlands
  • Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour
    Radboud University Medical Center
    P.O. Box 9101
    6500 HB Nijmegen
    The Netherlands
  • (+31) 024 36 10062
  • Laura.deNooij@radboudumc.nl
  • @LauraNooij
  • ORCID