TEAM MEMBERS

Principal investigator

Barbara Braams, PhD
CV

Barbara received her PhD from Leiden University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, before assuming her current position as an associate professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research, which focuses on adolescent neurocognitive development and decision making, has been published in top peer-reviewed journals in the field including the Journal of Neuroscience, Child Development and Developmental Science. She is a recipient of a NWO Rubicon and a NWO Veni grant. Her current work is supported by the AMMODO Science Award and a she is a core team member of the GUTS consortium. Her contributions to the field were acknowledged with several prizes including the Dutch Neuroscience Meeting Young Talent Prize.  

PhD students

Tatvan Todor

Tatvan completed a double degree Master's in Biomedical Sciences with a specialization in Neuromodulation, part of which was spent at Tohoku University in Japan, where Tatvan conducted research on the gut-brain axis. She graduated in 2023 and began a PhD in Developmental Psychology within the ‘Growing Up Together in Society (GUTS)’ project at the Vrije University Amsterdam. This project, supervised by Barbara Braams and Lydia Krabbendam, investigates how the relationship between risk-taking behavior, stress, and socio-economic status is influenced by the development of gray matter structures in adolescents, using MRI techniques. Additionally, Tatvan’s role involves a focus on recruitment of participants within the project.
Outside of work, she enjoys being creatively engaged through digital drawing or painting, attending music festivals here and there, and staying active by going to the gym.

Alumni

Ana da Silva Pinho
PhD student (2019-2025)

Hester Sijtsma
Postdoc (2023-2026)

Rebecca van Rijn
PhD student (2020-2026)
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Sibel Alticulaç
PhD student (2017-2025)