Bio
 

Ania Fiksinski (PhD) is a psychologist and researcher based in the Netherlands. She is currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow at Maastricht University and the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital / University Medical Center Utrecht.
Ania finished her MSc. training as a psychologist in 2013 (Utrecht, the Netherlands) and obtained her PhD degree in February 2021, with Prof. Anne Bassett (Toronto), Prof. Rene Kahn (Utrecht/New York), and Dr. Jacob Vorstman (Toronto/Utrecht). The PhD dissertation (available here), focusing on individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, lead to multiple publications involving typical phenotypic expressions of 22q11, risk prediction, as well as pediatric psychiatric outcomes. Ania is actively involved in patient/ family organizations for 22q11DS, both on a national and international level and acts as an Advisor to the International 22q11DS Society. Her research focuses on understanding cognitive and behavioral trajectories in the context of a pathogenic genetic variant such as the 22q11.2 deletion, including the study of both genetic and (early) phenotypic factors, as well as different age-groups, as to eventually improve understanding of these expressions across the entire lifespan.