online alumni perspectives februari 2026
online alumni perspectives februari 2026

Get to Know the Alumni

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Eleonora Broggi 

Eleonora is a PhD researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, having joined in October 2023 as a fully funded recipient of the NIHR Maudsley BRC Studentship. Her research focuses on precision medicine for autism spectrum disorder, with a particular emphasis on identifying and validation EEG biomarkers of treatment response. By investigating the neural and cognitive mechanisms, underlying these biomarkers, her work aims to pave the way for their use in clinical trials, contributing to the development of innovative autism therapies.

Eleonora began her academic journey with a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Maastricht University. Building on this solid foundation, she graduated Cuma Laude from the Research Master's in Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciende - Drug Development and Neurohealth at the same institution. During her master's studies, Eleonora gained invaluable industry experience as a Global Biomarker & Diagnostic Intern in the Precision Medicine department of Novartis Pharma, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Her combined academic training and industry experience reflect her commitment to translating cutting-edge neuroscience into practical applications, driving meaningful advancements in healthcare.

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Simon Büschges 

Simon is a Berlin-based HR tech founder. His current work grows directly out of several years in HR and employee experience consulting at Capgemini Invent, where he specialized in translating AI advances into meaningful, practical change inside organizations. His projects ranged from developing AI applications for HR and beyond to shaping AI operating models and designing AI enablement efforts.

Simon studied work and organizational psychology at Maastricht University and management at Peking University and Yonsei University. His path spans start-ups, consultancies, and global corporations - giving him an international, people-centered perspective on how work is shaped, what employees need to thrive, and how technology can genuinely support them.

Outside of work, he loves improv theatre, traveling and diving across Asia, and connecting with people from around the world.

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Ola Deltan

Master in Neuropsychology
Academic year 2018/2019

Current position
Neuropsychologist at NTC (Neurologisches Therapiecentrum in Cologne
Full time since July 2020

I work within an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team consisting of neurologists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, and nursing staff.

Professional Activities

1. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation of patients with neurological conditions:

  • Diagnostics:
    • Comprehensive neuropsychological assessments (paper-and-pencil and computerized testing)
    • Evaluation of eligibility to drive following neurological illness
  • Therapy (individual and group settings):
    • Relaxation groups (Progressive Muscle Relaxation according to Jacobson; Autogenic Training according to Schulz) 
    • Attention group
    • Memory group
    • Visual and visuospatial dysfunction groups
    • Planning and logical reasoning groups
    • Support groups focusing on coping with life changes after neurological illness
  • Psychoeducation: 
    • Pain management
    • Stress management
    • Mindfulness
    • Eligibility to dive with neurological conditions
    • Smoking cessation

2. Neuropsychological assessments in Geriatric Care (affiliated hospital)

  • Early identification of cognitive changes associated with different types of dementia
  • Counseling and supportive conversations to help patients and families cope with diagnosis and disease progression

 Academic Engagement

Alongside my clinical work, I am pursuing an external PhD in cooperation with the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience at Maastricht University. My research focuses on the therapeutic effects of transcranial directcurrent stimulation (tDCS) in clinical populations, specifically:

  • Patients with unilateral spatial neglect following stroke
  • Patients suffering from fatigue in Post-COVID syndrome

My work aims to bridge clinical neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience, translating experimental neuromodulation research into meaningful rehabilitation outcomes.

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Cristina Hidalgo 

 

Cristina studied Criminology in Sevilla, where she was born, and then did her Master's in Legal Psychology in Maastricht in 2018. She describes herself as a resolutive person, outgoing and very dynamic: she enjoys all kind of hobbies: hiking, rollerblading, dancing, reading, tennis, ceramics...While her greatest passion is travelling. 

While she had always focused on her studies from a social side of crime prevention, she ended up working unexpectedly while passionately in Fraud Investigation.

Her first job was as a Fraud Analyst in Vueling Airlines; monitoring payments to block suspicious activity, searching for risky patterns and fraud trends. Then, during the COVID crisis, she was forced to find a new job and it turned out into a fascinating new field within Fraud prevention: she worked as Security Document Expert in an international tech company, controlling identity verifications and detecting counterfeit,...

After five years, she decided to move on and tried to specialize in economic fraud, returning to her beginnings. She currently works as Payment Specialist for e-commerce in a national bank, giving support to multiple companies in online payment security and analysis.

Along my career path I have learned that my academic background and overall experiences, even though it seems not directly related to my current expertise, is useful to develop my job: a multidisciplinary point of view, research tools, analytical mind, and pattern detection, investigation...

"I love Criminology as a science and how I built profession from it, so I proudly say I am a Criminologist specialized in Fraud prevention"

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Job van den Hurk 

Job van den Hurk is a cognitive neuroscientist. After his Bsc in psychology and Msc in cognitive neuroscience, he obtained his PhD at Maastricht University for his research on higher order visual processing. He then worked as postdoctoral research fellow at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, where he studied how visual brain regions of congenitally blind people are functionally organized. He mainly uses functional and structural MRI as neuroimaging methods, and unravels the data using computational modeling and machine learning techniques. At this moment, he works as scientific director at ultra-high field MRI center Scannexus in Maastricht, as well as assistant professor at Maastricht University.

Job is co-founder and editor-in-chief of award-winning scientific platform BrainMatters, which intends to make neuroscience accessible to the broader public. He also writes blogs and articles for the writer's collective Kaf.online, and is co-host of the Dutch tv show 'Brainstorm'.

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Daniël Janssen 

Daniël Janssen works as a forensic psychologist and manager at de Waag, a forensic outpatient clinic. As a therapist, he offers treatment to people who attract attention from the criminal justice system for violent and property crimes. he is also involved in the development of treatment programs for stalking and regularly presents on the topic. Daniël obtained his bachelor degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences at University College Roosevelt in Middelburg, after which he completed two masters programs at Maastricht University, in Forensic Psychology and Legal Psychology. He has since received training in risk assessment and a variety of therapeutic methods, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, schema therapy, and EMDR.

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Erik Kikas

Erik was born and raised in Estonia before he made the decision to move to the Netherlands to pursue his BSc in Psychology and Neuroscience at UM. Following his graduation in 2019, he took a year off to work on a project that involved transitioning to Canvas. In 2021, Erik completed his MSc degree in Neuropsychology where he explored the use of Virtual Reality (VR) glasses in measuring pupil dilation as part of his research internship. This project sparked his interest in the collaboration of technology and psychology, which he continues to explore in his work and personal life.

Currently, Erik is working as as Student & Career Counsellor at the School of Business and Economics, which is a faculty of UM. He is passionate about helping student achieve their goals and engages in daily discussions on various topics, including motivation, study skills, time-management, (mental) illness, and personal circumstances. Erik is also involved in leading projects such as the development of an online platform for blended counselling.

Aside from his professional interests, Erik is an avid enthusiast of technology and loves being outdoors. He also enjoys building things, - two of his favorite projects have been building a camper van and an electronic longboard.

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Ilona de Kooter 

Ilona completed her bachelor degree in Liberal arts and sciences in 2014 at the University in Tilburg. In 2015 she obtained her first Master degree, Health and Social Psychology, at Maastricht University. This degree was followed up with a second master degree, Mental Health, which she obtained in 2017. After finishing this degree she started working as a psychologist in training at HSK. HSK is a mental health organization geared towards aiding people with mental health complaints such as depression, anxiety, compulsions, and trauma. In 2021, she completed a 2-year training to become a fully licensed CBT-therapist and in 2024 she completed the 2-year postgraduate to become a GZ-psychologist. As part of her training to become a GZ-psychologist she has worked at a different mental health care institute for a year. This institute is specialized in autism and comorbidity.

 

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Isabelle Maussen 

Isabelle holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Neuroscience and a Master's degree in Health and Social Psychology, both from Maastricht University. After her studies, she gained research experience as a research assistant and later as a junior researcher. During the latter role, she worked on a interregional project that combined research with practical applications, such as providing training sessions. This experience inspired her passion for roles with societal impact and meaningful connections with people.

Isabelle is an Environmental Health Advisor at GGD (public health service), where she works on protecting and promoting healthy living environment. Our environment could influence our health, both the environment indoors (e.g. mold, asbestos, low frequency sound) and outside (e.g. air or noise pollution, climate, etc.). Her role involves directly engaging with citizens to address their questions and giving them advise as to advise the municipalities. In addition, she works on broader initiatives that aim to protect and improve public health.

At GGD, she combines her academic background with a desire to contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment for all. 

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Gosia Michalowska 

Neuroscientist | PhD Candidate in Medical Science, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, Sweden

Formerly worked at a Translational Molecular Imaging Lab at Karolinska Institute.

Gosia is a translational researcher who loves connecting ideas across disciplines. She began her academic path in Psychology at Maastricht University, continued into Neuropsychology, and ultimately secured her PhD position in Medical Science. This journey shaped her holistic approach, bridging neuroimaging with laboratory work to understand neurological diseases from preclinical models to clinical contexts.

Her research career started in Manchester, UK, where she worked as an intern on in vivo imaging of pathological ageing. The project grew into a long-term collaboration with the University of Manchester and led to her first publication. She then moved on to her first full-time research role at the Karolinska Institute in the Nordberg Translational Molecular Imaging lab, focusing on neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease.

Gosia is now in the final phase of her PhD in a neuroimmunology lab, investigating therapeutic strategies for stroke. As she transitions toward an industry career, she is also exploring entrepreneurial projects in health technology and other emerging business ventures. In 2026, she plans to give herself space to travel and recalibrate, continue her Mandarin Chinese studies, and stay open to whatever exciting opportunities come next.

Connect with Gosia on LinkedIn: https://se.linkedin.com/in/mm-michalowska 

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Nathalie Nolden 

Nathalie is a holistic psychologist from Germany, living and working in the Netherlands for the past eight years. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Maastricht University and obtained a Master's degree in Positive Psychology and Wellbeing from Tilburg University.

Through her private practice, she guides individuals in reconnecting with their authentic selves, nurturing balance, resilience, and a deeper sense of fulfilment. Her holistic approach embraces the connection between body, mind and soul, fostering greater self-awareness. She offers support in personal growth, mental wellbeing, boundary setting, mindfulness, body awareness, trauma healing, and nervous system regulation.

Nathalie's professional background includes work in healthcare institutions, private practices, companies, and organizations across the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. She works with people of all ages and life situations, offering individual guidance, workshops, courses, and training sessions in Dutch, German, or English.

In her presentation, Nathalie will share insights from her holistic practice and will be happy to answer any questions.

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Lisa Schuetz 

Lisa Schuetz early on got fascinated with the complexity of human medicine, but was certain that she wants a role in the background. Therefore, she chose to do a Bachelor's in Molecular Medicine (Medical University Innsbruck, AT) and while staring through a microscope during a summer internship, she decided to start the Research Master Fundamental Neuroscience in 2018. After a shortened internship (COVID-19 pandemic) on microglia in synaptic pruning at Humanitas University in Milan, Lisa put her academic career on hold and worked at a COVID-19 PCR lab close to her hometown.

There she missed the problem solving that is crucial in research and reached out to a previous UM supervisor. She started a joint position as a junior researcher at Hasselt and Maastricht University on an immunology-focused topic. In a team effort funding for a PhD position was gathered and now she is focusing on understanding how obesity affects the immune system and its link to Alzheimer's disease. Coming closer to the end of the PhD journey, she is starting ones more to try to understand what is the most valuable next step in her career.

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