Professor of Child Psychiatry Henning Tiemeier has received a Vici scholarship from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Tiemeier is conducting research for Erasmus MC into the effects of adult behaviour on children’s brain development. Many children have negative experiences such as neglect, abuse or bullying. Tiemeier’s team will follow over 4,000 children to study whether such experiences alter brain development and how this can lead to depression in adolescents. They are also researching what can counter the effects of negative experiences.

Most important scholarship

A total of 34 scientists at Dutch universities receive a Vici scholarship from NWO. Vici is the most important scholarship in the NWO’s Innovation Impulse, under which the Veni and Vidi scholarships also fall. Researchers who receive a Vici may establish their own research group, frequently prior to a structural professor position. The scholarship funding can amount to up to € 1.5 million.