dr. L (Lina) van Drunen

Biography

Lina van Drunen is a postdoctoral researcher of Developmental Neuroscience in Society at Erasmus University Rotterdam 

Bio

In my current postdoctoral project, we are co-developing an impact pathway with youth who have had contact with the police, embedding a youth participatory action research (Y-PAR) framework across all empirical and design phases. Grounded in neurocognitive theory, the project examines which high-stress environments are most suitable for experiential learning aimed at fostering flexible emotion regulation through VR-based biofeedback training.

In my previous postdoctoral work, I examined associations between mental and physical wellbeing in early adolescence from youths’ perspectives, using co-creation to design intervention programs targeting both domains. This work emphasized identifying key barriers and facilitators that shape wellbeing-related behaviors.

During my PhD, I investigated mechanisms underlying individual differences in brain structure, developmental change, and function, with a particular focus on how enriched versus deprived environments influence brain developmental trajectories from middle childhood to early adolescence (ages 7–14)

Research interests: Structural brain development, twin design, social environment, music ability, self-concept, Y-PAR, wellbeing