I am Professor in language development at the Faculty of Humanities. My research is concerned with both fundamental questions on prosody (i.e. melody and rhythm in speech), such as its role in communication and prosodic learning, and the societal issue of how acquisition of linguistic abilities interacts with children’s development in social and inter-personal domains.
Currently, I lead a VICI project on early prosodic development. My team and I investigate mechanisms underlying prenatal learning and development in the first three years of life and their implications for prenatal care, care for preterm infants, and children affected by language deficits.
As a DoY chair, I hope to play an active role in connecting researchers interested in youth research with DoY and helping them develop new interdisciplinary collaborations in the Early Childhood community. I’d also like to serve as a bridge between researchers with FAIR data and researchers who can use it. Read more

II am an assistant professor at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the Development and Education of youth in Diverse Societies Department. My research focusses on different quality aspects of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) provisions, the provided curriculum activities and opportunities for play and exploration, and their relations with children’s development and well-being.
Currently, I lead the national Childcare Quality Study (LKK) funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs. I am interested in the nature, causes and impact of early emerging social and educational inequalities in the context of diversity and study these issues in the (pre- and after-)school classroom and how quality in these provisions can be improved.

I am passionate about the potential of Early Childhood within DoY and hope to contribute to community building within and across disciplines. I would like to help researchers in increasing their societal impact. Read more

I am a neonatologist and Associate professor working at the Department of Neonatology in the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, UMCU. Last year I was selected as a clinical scientist. My research is focused on neonatal neurobehavior with a special interest in the role of sleep on early brain development.
Together with researchers from the Technical Universities of Delft and Eindhoven and with researchers from the University of Utrecht, we are currently developing new unobtrusive ways to monitor sleep in babies and we are linking sleep, to brain connectivity. We are using several techniques, including automated video analysis of baby behavior. I would like to increase awareness of the importance of sleep on child health and development.
Because I am also chair of the theme Developmental Disorders in the UMCU, my aim is to connect researchers from both communities and contribute to interdisciplinary research and education. Furthermore, I would like to support our community to increase impact and societal relevance. Read more