Karin Roelofs

Last updated
Karin Roelofs
Karin Roelofs in 2016 bij Universiteit van Nederland.jpg
Born
Karin Roelofs

1972[ citation needed ]
NationalityDutch
Alma materRadboud University
Scientific career
Fields
  • Neuroscience
  • Psychopathology
  • Affective Neuroscience
  • Emotion regulation
  • Defensive threat responses
  • Decisions under threat
Institutions
Thesis Disturbed information processing in conversation disorder. An empirical evaluation of dissociation theory  (2002)
Doctoral advisor Prof. dr. C.A.L. Hoogduin & Prof. dr. G.P. Van Galen
Website https://www.epanlab.nl/people/karin-roelofs/

Karin Roelofs (1972[ citation needed ]} is a cognitive neuroscientist and clinical psychologist known for her contributions in the fields of stress resilience., [1] defensive freeze reactions in humans, [2] neurocognitive mechanisms of emotion regulation in health, [3] professionals at risk [4] and patients with stress-related disorders. [5] Currently she holds the position of Professor of Experimental Psychopathology at the Behavioural Science Institute (BSI) and is chair of the Affective Neuroscience group at the Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour (DI), Radboud University Nijmegen (RU) in The Netherlands. Roelofs is a member of the Dutch Royal Academy for Sciences. [6]

Contents

Education and career

Karin Roelofs obtained her master's degree in Neuropsychology and Clinical Psychology at Radboud University. Afterward, Roelofs took on a research fellowship, assuming the position of junior researcher at the Pediatric Branch NCI: National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, USA. She completed her Ph.D. in 2002 at Radboud University, with the highest distinction (Cum Laude) and became assistant professor at the Department of Clinical Health and Neuropsychology at Leiden University (LU). During this time, she also held part-time positions as a registered GZ-Psychologist [7] at Rivierduinen, Leiden and at PsyQ, Den Haag. In 2007 she was promoted to associate professor specifically at the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC). Following her tenure at Leiden University, she made a transition in 2010 to Radboud University as a full professor of Experimental Psychopathology at Behavioural Science Institute (BSI) & Donders Institute: Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (DCCN). It was there that she founded the EPAN group, [8] known as "Experimental Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience”. [9]

Research

Roelofs is an expert in affective neuroscience and stress-related disorders. She has provided the empirical foundations of current theorizing about the role of human defensive stress-reactions in long-term resilience. [10] Her group's longitudinal studies in risk populations [4] has contributed to the identification of biomarkers for stress-resilience. [1] Additionally, she is developing neurocognitively grounded interventions to train stress-resilience and decision making under threat, [11] [12] of which one is currently implemented in the curriculum of the Dutch Police Academy. [1] Roelofs’ theoretical paradigm opened new scientific directions, moving from a focus on stress vulnerability towards a focus on understanding resilience. She was awarded the prestigious international Evens Science Prize for outstanding neuroscientific contributions to the field of stress-resilience. [1]

Awards and recognition

Roelofs holds various international positions. [13] She founding member and chair (2022–2024) of the International Resilience Alliance (INTRESA) [14] organizing symposia and publishing recommendations to advance the field. As founding member and vice-president (2020–2026) of the (AERG) [15] she focuses on fundamental science in Europe and organizes EU-wide debates and science events. She is elected member of the Academia Europaea AE [16] and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) [6] and elected board member of the European federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) dedicated to the advancement of science and scholarship in Europe and the world.

Karin Roelofs has received several grants throughout her career. A selection of personal and consortium grants:

Public engagement

Roelofs regularly gives public lectures, several of which are publicly available: "The Resilient Human Being" [23] (in Dutch: De veerkrachtige mens) as part of the Dies Natalis event at Radboud University; "What causes you to freeze, flee or fight when you feel threatened?" [24] ( in Dutch: Wat zorgt ervoor dat je verstijft, vlucht of juist vecht als je je bedreigd voelt?) was recorded as part of public lecture series of the University of the Netherlands (in Dutch: de universiteit van nederland); and "Grensverleggen is... logisch" [25] organized by the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands (in Dutch: Ministrie van Defense); and a lecture on Veerkracht as part of the Radboud Reflects lecture series. [26]

Roelofs’ work has been featured in several television programs and documentaries: The Evens Foundation Price video, [1] [27] Radboud Brain Awareness Week, [28] "Martijn is Angry!" ( in Dutch: Veilig Verkeer Nederland: Martijn is Boos! [29] [30] ). VPRO-Labyrint [31] and Katja's body scan.

Her work has been covered in newspapers and magazines, including the annual magazine of the Dutch Research Council (NWO): Results of 2022, [32] NeurolabNL, [33] European Commission Horizon (online magazine), [34] NWO. [35]

She also engaged in educating teachers and primary school children in research skills, [36] including workshops, lectures and a book on science for primary schools. [37]

Additionally, Roelofs' expertise has been sought in media interviews, including discussions on funding for fundamental research[48], the effects of stress on young children, and emotion regulation in psychopaths. [38] Lastly, her lab's efforts have been featured in numerous articles and radio segments in the Netherlands and Belgium [39]

Representative publications

Source: [40]

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References

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  2. Roelofs, Karin; Dayan, Peter (2022). "Freezing revisited: coordinated autonomic and central optimization of threat coping". Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 23 (9): 568–580. doi:10.1038/s41583-022-00608-2. ISSN   1471-003X. PMID   35760906.
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