Interview Lotte Gerritsen
Assistant professor in Clinical Psychology
What is your research about?
My research focuses on how the body and psyche work together. I’m investigating, among other things, the development of stress-related disorders such as depression, PTSD and dementia and the role of somatic disorders in psychiatry.
Right now, I am focusing on the role of hormones. After all, hormones regulate many important processes such as energy, sleep, sex, hunger and stress. Hormones are therefore an ideal medium to explore the link between body and psyche. Much of my current research focuses on women-specific factors in stress-related disorders. Only in recent years has there been solid research on women-specific factors, such as menstruation, contraception, pregnancy and menopause. So there is still a huge unexplored area that I would like to contribute to.
How long have you been working at FSBS?
I have never worked anywhere as long as here! I have been working here for almost eight years now.
What do you like about working at FSBS/UU? Why work here in particular?
I started working here because I wanted to be able to teach more as an academic – just doing research was very lonely for me. I am comfortable with teaching and enjoy thinking about the Psychology curriculum and new forms of education. I really like the combination of teaching and research.
The reason I am staying specifically at UU is that I feel I am not only seen as an employee here but am also valued as a human being.
How does the faculty contribute to your research?
The advantage of working somewhere a bit longer is that you can get to know more people, making it easier to navigate your way around an organisation as large and complex as UU. I greatly appreciate the tremendous commitment, interest and kindness of all my colleagues. I am supported in applying for big research grants and also when there are sudden problems in education – I really feel that everyone wants to help.
What do you think makes UU unique?
As far as I can tell, it seems to me that, at UU’s FSBS, people are really thinking about how we can collaborate more within the faculty by actively engaging in cross-pollination. A good example was how the start-up grants were used. I think it is very healthy to look outside your own bubble and learn from each other.