YJ (Yara) Toenders

Biography

Dr Yara Toenders is a Healthy Start Fellow at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. She works in the Clinical Psychology team and the SYNC lab.  Her research focusses on mental wellbeing of adolescents, from the biological to the societal level. Biological factors she studies are brain development and sleep. Societal factors include the smartphone ban and performance pressure. At the same time, she emphasises the importance of positive influences, such as having inspiring role models.

Yara previously obtained her PhD at the University of Melbourne, where she studied depression onset in young people, and the neural correlates associated with depression.

Research interests: Mental health, Brain development, Adolescence, Sleep, Screentime
Onderzoeksinteresses: Mentaal welzijn, Hersenontwikkeling, Adolescentie, Slaap, Schermtijd