MEET OUR FPN 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 Cum Laude from the Research Master's in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience - 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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Pauline van Gils 

Hi, I am Pauline! After obtaining my bachelor's diploma psychology at Maastricht University I completed the Research Master in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience with a specialisation Clinical Psychology (formerly called Psychopathology) in 2020. During this master's program, I learned a lot about research in clinical psychology and gained valuable experience through both a research internship and a clinical internship. This prepared me well for the PhD that I did afterwards at the Limburg Brain Injury Center. This PhD project was a collaboration between Maastricht University and the University of Twente and focused on cognitive recovery after cardiac arrest, a topic that was new to me when I began this four-year journey. Along the way, I learned a lot about this subject and many other aspects of research and clinical practice, including neuropsychological assessment, TMS, MRI, rehabilitation, and collaborating with clinicians and patients. During these five years, I also taught in the Master's program Neuropsychology and supervised several master's thesis projects at the UM. I enjoyed teaching a lot and during my PhD  I obtained my University Teaching Qualification (UTQ). After completing my PhD, I spent several months working for Marketing and Communications and the Faculty Board of FPN, as well as taking time to travel. I am now enjoying my current job as a teacher in Clinical Psychology at the University of Amsterdam.

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Riccarda Specht 

Riccarda Specht grew up in the tri-border region of Germany, Luxembourg, and France. In 2018, she moved to another tri-border region to pursue her BSc in Psychology at Maastricht University. After discovering her passion for neuroscience while also enjoying clinical work, she decided to enroll in the Research Master in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, specializing in Neuropsychology, at UM. During her research internship at the Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Centre in Melbourne, she gained hands-on experience developing and implementing a new protocol to support the sexual health and well-being of patients with traumatic brain injury.

In 2024, she began working as a teacher within the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, where she gained experience mentoring bachelor's students within a system of programmatic assessment. Since September 2025, she is working as a therapist at the MEDIAN Rehabilitationszentrum Daun, a rehabilitation clinic specialized in treating young adults with illicit drug addictions. Simultaneously, she is undertaking professional training at the Eifeler Verhaltenstherapie Institut to become a licensed cognitive behavourial therapist.

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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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