dr. M (Michelle) Achterberg

Biography

Dr. Michelle Achterberg is a developmental neuroscientist with an interest in social development and is appointed as Assistant Professor in Youth & Family Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

She is the principal investigator of SO-REBEL Research, an interdisciplinary research team that studies Social Rejection in the Brain and Everyday Life. Our current generation of youth is unique in their social development: Growing up in the digital age,  youth are hyperconnected with their peers and social rejection nowadays takes place both offline and online. While some socially rejected children suffer from widespread and persistent impairments in mental health, other children seem more resilient in dealing with social rejection. At SO-REBEL, we want to understand these individual differences and unravel the impact of social rejection in the brain and everyday life. 

Michelle has the vision that science becomes better when using an interdisciplinary approach, which we accomplish by integrating theories and methods from Developmental Psychology with Cognitive Neuroscience, and Pedagogical Sciences, and by consulting societal stakeholders. It is our ambition to combine fundamental top science with societal impact using citizen science.

For collaborations, questions and/or knowledge utilisation, you can contact Dr. Michelle Achterberg.

Bio

Michelle has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Research Master’s degree in Neuroscience. During her masters, Michelle worked as a research intern at the department of (child) psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, where she gained her first experience with neuroimaging in children. Following her passion for developmental neuroscience, Michelle joined Eveline Crone’s Brain and Development Lab in 2014. In 2016 Michelle received a KNAW ter Meulen grant and Leiden University Fund to visit Prof. dr. Nim Tottenham at Columbia University New York. Michelle has presented her work on numerous national and international conferences and has received several trainee and travel awards.

In March 2020, Michelle defended her PhD thesis on “the nature, nurture and neural mechanisms of social emotion regulation in childhood”, for which she received the highest distinction (cum laude). For her scientific and societal impact, she received several awards (Dutch Neurofederation PhD Award(2021); Dutch Society for Developmental Psychology (VNOP) Dissertation award (2021); Erasmus Research Prize for Exceptional Research (2022); KHMW JC. RUigrok Prize for behavioral sciences (2023)).