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Team leaders:
Reinout Wiers Pier Prins Senior team members: Hilde Geurts Elske Salemink Marija Maric Juliette Liber Thomas Gladwin Junior team members: Sebastiaan Dovis Janna Cousijn Denise van Deursen Tim Janssen Marieke De Vries Thomas Pronk Wouter Boendermaker Andrea Wolf Associate team members: Iman Elfeddali Margot Peeters The ADAPT teamThe ADAPT team was formed in 2008, when Dr. Reinout Wiers received a prestigious VICI grant of EUR 1,250,000.- from the Dutch government for his project, entitled 'Implicit Cognition and Addiction: Changing Perspectives and New Interventions'. Since then, several key members have joined. Among them are Dr. Hilde Geurts, who received a VIDI grant (EUR 800,000) for her project on Aging With Autism, and Dr. Elske Salemink, who received a VENI grant for her project, entitled Triple A: Fear ('Angst'), Alcoholism and Automatic Processes. Below you can find more information on the members of our team.Reinout Wiers (PhD), Professor of developmental psychopathology
Biographical sketchProf. Wiers is full professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Amsterdam. He is internationally known for his work on implicit cognitive processes in addiction. He published over 100 international papers and chapters, mostly on this subject and received the prestigious VIDI (2002) and VICI (2008) research grants from the Dutch National Science Foundation (N.W.O.) for research on implicit cognition and addiction. With Alan Stacy, he edited the Handbook of Implicit Cognition and Addiction (SAGE, 2006). He is senior editor of the no 1 ranked journal in the field (Addiction) and on the editorial board of several other Addiction journals. Main Research Topics My main research topic concerns the (neuro-)cognitive processes involved in the etiology of addictive behaviors, and related psychopathology. In our lab we investigate what changes in people's mind/brain as they develop addictive behaviors. We also try to directly influence the processes involved in addiction, in order to study the causal status of these processes and ultimately to "re-train" these processes back to normal, which would imply increased control over addictive behaviors. TOP Pier Prins (PhD), Professor of clinical child psychology
Biographical sketchPier Prins studied clinical and developmental psychology at the University of Utrecht. He received his Ph.D at the University of Amsterdam with a dissertation on Verbal Self-Control of Anxiety in Children. In 1984 he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study and do research in the USA. In 1989 he became associate professor at the department of Clinical Psychology of the University of Amsterdam and in 2003 was appointed full professor of Clinical Child Psychology at the same University. He is a child behavior therapist and member of the Dutch Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy. Main Research Topics Research interests concern the development and evaluation of new psychosocial interventions for children and youth with internalizing and externalizing disorders. In his researchefforts, treatment-outcome studies are designed from a developmental perspective and embedded in experimental psychopathology. Currently, Pier Prins is involved in treatment-outcome studies with aggressive children and children with ADHD. Furthermore, he is involved in a multicenter study on the mechanisms of change in cognitive behavior therapy for children with anxiety disorders. TOP Hilde Geurts (PhD), Associate professor
Biographical sketchHilde Geurts obtained a MSc in Neuro- and Rehabiliation psychology (1996) at the University of Nijmegen (Radboud University). During her MSc she worked together with Anouk Scheres on a research project at the University of Essex (Colchester, England) with dr. Ricardo Russo and dr. Geoff Ward as her supervisors. Next she worked for approximately two years as a neuropsychologist in a psychiatric hospital for children. In 1998 she started with her PhD-project on Executive control in ADHD and Autism spectrum Disorders (ASD) at the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, with prof.dr. J.A. Sergeant, prof.dr. H. Roeyers and dr. J. Oosterlaan as advisors. She moved to the Department of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Vrije Universiteit to finish her PhD-project. In the meanwhile she worked as a lecturer at the Department of Clinical Psychology (UvA). From 2002 till 2009 she was assistant professor Clinical Neuropsychology at the Department of Psychonomics (UvA).Since 2009 she became an associate professor in clinical neuropsychology. In the summer of 2008, she visited the M.I.N.D institute of UC Davis (Sacramento, California) for a three month period to work with Blythe Corbett and Marjorie Solomon. One day a week she works as a senior researcher and psychologist in the autism expert team of the "poli Amsterdam"of the "Dr. Leo Kannerhuis". She recently obtained a VIDI grant (MagW NWO) to study the effect of aging in autism. Main Research Topics The main focus of her work is on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), two of the major neurodevelopmental disorders. ADHD and ASD have some salient overlapping clinical characteristics, but the distinctiveness of these disorders is also apparent. The idea is that these disorders have some shared disrupted developmental pathways which can be studied by focusing on cognition and behavior. The main question of her work is whether there are dissociations between these neurodevelopmental disorders and how we can account for the overlap. She focuses on cognitive control (inhibition, cognitive flexibility), intra individual variability, reinforcement learning, and pragmatics. Recent ongoing projects focus on how deficient processes in people with ADHD and ASD can be ameliorated. Most of these studies are behavioural studies in children (4 to 16 years) and elderly (55+ years) and recently she started to incorporate neuroimaging techniques to study the aforementioned topics. People who want to particpate in her studies are always welcome, please see for more information www.adhd-autisme.nl (in Dutch). TOP Elske Salemink (PhD), Assistant professor
Biographical sketchElske Salemink was born on January 28, 1979, in Doetinchem. After completing secondary education (VWO, Isala College in Silvolde) in 1997, she studied Health Sciences (Mental Health Science) at Maastricht University and graduated cum laude in 2002. For almost two years, she worked as an academic research assistant and junior lecturer at the Department of Medical, Clinical, and Experimental Psychology of Maastricht University. From 2004 until 2008, she was a PhD student at the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at Utrecht University. During this period, she also performed a study at the University of Western Australia , Perth for three months in collaboration with Professor Colin Macleod. In 2006 she began with her training as a behavioural and cognitive therapist for the registration as a member of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (VGCt). In 2008 Elske worked as a post-doc at Utrecht University. From February 2009, she is assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam, Department of Developmental Psychology (focus on experimental research regarding developmental psychopathology). In 2010 she received a NWO Veni grant. Main Research Topics My research interests concern cognitive processes in the aetiology of anxiety and addictive disorders. Current research lines are: the role of attentional and interpretive bias in the development of adolescent and adult anxiety disorders, the role of cognitive processes in the interaction between anxiety and alcohol use in adolescence and adulthood; prevention and treatment of anxiety and alcohol problems. If you would like to know more about my current line of research, please check out this article on the UvA website. TOP Marija Maric (PhD), Assistant professor
My research is mainly about the question for whom do interventions work and how do they work? I am investigating the efficacy of evidence-based interventions for children and adolescents. Special research areas: mediators and moderators of youth treatment outcomes.My special skills are methodology for the investigation of mediators and moderators of intervention outcomes, conduct of clinical intervention research, knowledge of developmental psychopathology, dissemination to the clinical practice, clinical and teaching skills. TOP Juliette Liber (PhD), Post-doctoral researcherAs a post-doc I am working on a selective preventive treatment program for 8 to 12 year old children with disruptive behavior problems. Our study aims to verify whether disruptive behavior problems can be successfully treated in the school setting, we furthermore investigate whether active involvement and teacher characteristics impact upon childrens treatment gains. The first results are expected to be available in the beginning of 2012. My specific skills include treatment integrity checks, prediction of treatment outcome, definition of clinically significant change, treatment process.TOP Thomas Gladwin (PhD), Post-doctoral researcher
My work focuses on the neurocognitive mechanisms of addiction, in particular the processes underlying the relationships between motivation, cognitive control and automatic biases.
We use various techniques to study these processes and interactions, including electroencephalography, fMRI and tDCS.
The practical goal is to use the results and methods in theory-driven interventions.
TOP Sebastiaan Dovis (MSc), PhD student
My research focuses on the deficits in the executive functioning of children with ADHD and on methods to improve and treat these deficits.My specific skills include ADHD clinical expertise, design of neuropsychological measures and training tasks, experimental designs and randomized controlled trials, theoretical game design. TOP Janna Cousijn (MSc), PhD student
Biographical sketchI moved to Amsterdam in 2002 to study biomedical science at the UvA. Upon finishing my bachelor I continued with the interdisciplinary research master Cognitive Science at the UvA. I did my research project at the Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience under supervision of Dr. L. Vanrderschuren. During this project I looked at the role of glutamatergic/dopaminergic neurostransmission during drug induced behavioural sensitization in rats. After finishing my masters I worked as a research assistant for Dr. H.S. Scholte at the department of psychonomics of the UvA. In 2008 I started with my PhD project at the department of developmental psychology of the UvA. Current Research Project The coming years I will focuses on neurocognitive and neuroimaging predictors of the course of drug use in at-risk cannabisusers. The project is realized through collaboration between Dr. A. Goudriaan and Prof. Dr. D. Veltman of the Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research (AMC) and Prof. Dr. R. Wiers and Prof. Dr. K.R. Ridderinkhof of the department of developmental psychology (UvA). TOP Denise van Deursen (MSc), PhD student
Biographical sketchI studied psychology at Utrecht University, where I specialized in clinical psychology. During my Master’s program, I conducted a study on the effectiveness of an intervention for bereaved parents at York University, in Toronto, Canada. This study fuelled my passion for research, and after I graduated (cum laude) in 2007, I immediately started working as a research assistant at Utrecht University. Through my work as a research assistant, I gained experience in experimental psychopathology and soon realized I wanted to do my PhD in this area. In 2009, I started my PhD at the University of Amsterdam under supervision of Reinout Wiers and Elske Salemink. Current Research Project In my research, I investigate the role of relatively automatic cognitive biases that play a role in alcohol addiction, e.g. selective attention for alcohol cues, and automatic approach tendencies. More specifically, I study the effectiveness of different computerized cognitive bias modification (CBM) procedures in reducing alcohol related problems, both among heavy drinkers (through the internet) and among alcohol addicted patients (admitted in clinics). I am interested in both more fundamental questions regarding cognitive bias modification (What are the mechanisms through which CBM works?) as well as more applied research questions (e.g. Can CBM elicit clinically relevant changes in alcohol use?). Specific skills My specific skills include experimental psychopathology, reaction time measures, intervention outcome research, Internet interventions. TOP Tim Janssen (MSc), PhD student
Biographical sketchI am Tim Janssen, a PhD-student at the University of Amsterdam, at the Developmental Psychology department. I have been working at the UvA since May 2009. Since this summer, I have also been living in Amsterdam, having studied Psychology in Maastricht before then. My origins are in Eindhoven, where I still travel to many a weekend to cheer for PSV, its local club, and play football with my friends. Current Research Project My research involves the etiology of alcohol abuse among Dutch youth. To examine influences that determine alcohol abuse related outcomes, I am planning a longitudinal study among Dutch youth aged 12-16, asking them to fill out questionnaires and execute performance tasks measuring constructs previously related to alcohol use. In the case of the former, think of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) as a measure of alcohol abuse related outcomes and the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) as a measure of risk personality. In the case of the latter, performance tasks, think of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure implicit associations with alcohol and the Dot Probe Test to measure attention bias. TOP Marieke De Vries (MSc), PhD student
After graduating in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Amsterdam in 2007, I have been working in the clinical setting. In 2009 I started my PhD project, focusing on children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). My study focuses on Executive Functioning in ASD and more specifically, on training Executive Functions (Working Memory and Cognitive Flexibility) with a specially developed computer game.
The study focuses on children with an ASD diagnosis in the age of 8-12 years. People who want to participate are more than welcome. For more information or subscribing please see www.trainingvoorautisme.nl.
TOP Thomas Pronk (MSc), PhD student
I am examining to what extent the automatic processes that underlie addictive behaviours vary between youngsters in different cultures.
For instance: A typical Dutch might associate alcohol with partying, whereas a typical Italian might associate alcohol with dining.
Knowledge of such associations could result in more effective interventions, by customizing them for a particular culture.
My special skills are statistics, experiment design, and computer programming.
TOP Wouter Boendermaker (MSc), PhD student
After my (brief) study in informatics, I graduated in clinical developmental psychology and the research master psychology in 2009. Since then I have worked as a technical assistant for the ADAPT team, designing and programming executive function tasks in Flash for online research. Currently, I'm working on my own PhD project, in which I am designing and producing an online Flash game, aimed at heightening motivation for training several executive functions, as well as retraining attentional and approach biases in the context of alcohol and marijuana. This game version will also be compared to the regular versions of these tasks to see if these forms of training are effective, and whether a motivating environment strengthens this effect.
TOP Andrea Wolf (MSc), PhD student
In my research, I am examining the role of (neuro-) cognitive processes involved in the etiology of addictive behaviors, specifically in adolescent and adult cannabis abusers. Part of my work focuses on automatic cognitive biases that play a role in the development of addiction and the effectiveness of different computerized cognitive bias modification (CBM) procedures. Other research interests include the role of biological factors and cognitive processes in the interaction between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and drug use in adolescence and adulthood.My specific skills include clinical expertise as psychotherapist in training, knowledge of experimental psychopathology, neuropsychological measures, and intervention outcome research. TOP Iman Elfeddali (MSc), PhD studentI am Iman Elfeddali and I studied Health Psychology at Leiden University. The subject of my master thesis was smoking cessation among Dutch, Turkish and Moroccan male smokers and ex-smokers in the Netherlands. In 2006 I started with my one-year research internship at the Netherlands Institute for Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos Instituut). I worked on a project focusing on work-related psychological problems among ethnic minorities in the Netherlands (for this I also contributed to a work book for clients suffering from work-related psychological problems), a study about the treatment of mental disorders in the primary care setting in the Netherlands and a study regarding common mental disorder in the occupational health setting. Moreover, I contributed to a policy report on how to decrease suicide in the Netherlands. I received my master degree in 2006 and started my Ph.D project at the Department of Health Promotion at Maastricht University in 2007. The subject of the project is smoking relapse prevention and the project team consists of professor dr. Hein de Vries, professor dr. Reinout Wiers and dr. Catherine Bolman. Up till now we conducted several studies in order to identify the predictors of smoking relapse. Moreover, we are testing the efficacy of two smoking relapse prevention programs. The first program aims at fostering smoking abstinence by changing explicit cognitions -as conceptualized in the I-Change Model- using computer tailored feedback. The second program aims at fostering smoking abstinence by targeting implicit cognitions using an attentional retraining based on the Visual Dot Probe Task.My specific skills include applying social cognitive theories in prevention programs, computer tailoring and randomized controlled trials. TOP Margot Peeters (MSc), PhD student
I am examining the role of executive functions and automatic processes in drinking behavior of adolescents who are at risk for (problematic) alcohol use. It is assumed that strong alcohol associations predict alcohol use especially among adolescents who have problems with inhibiting responses or other executive functions.My specific skills include statistics and experimental studies. TOP |
