Onder Uns - Psychology and Neuroscience

06 | Onder Uns | December 2006
Welkom!
Peter Stiers
Ik ben universitair docent bij de sectie Biologische Psychologie. Tot voor kort werkte ik als postdoctoraal
medewerker bij de afdeling Kindergeneeskunde van de K.U. Leuven, België, waar ik
het Laboratorium voor Neuropsychologie leidde. Ik ben dus Belg, maar ook een beetje ‘van hier’,
want ik ben geboren en opgegroeid in (Belgisch) Limburg. Ik woon ondertussen wel al 15 jaar in
Leuven met mijn vrouw Martine Dams en drie dochters. Het Laboratorium voor Neuropsychologie
is een klein lab met een zestal mensen, gespecialiseerd in kinderneuropsychologie, met activiteiten
uiteenlopend van klinisch testonderzoek tot imaging studies. Ikzelf was verantwoordelijk voor het
luik visuele waarnemingstoornissen na vroege hersenletsels. In mijn doctoraatstudie ontwikkelde
ik een diagnostische methode voor deze stoornissen, waaruit de oprichting voortvloeide van een
multidisciplinaire raadpleging voor cerebrale visuele inperking. Daarnaast deed ik onderzoek naar
de aard van deze stoornissen, onder andere met structurele en functionele MRI. Bovendien gaf ik
als gastdocent aan de K.U. Leuven college over dit onderwerp. De laatste jaren engageerde het lab
zich meer met onderzoek naar prefrontale cognitieve functies bij normale personen en patiënten,
gebruikmakend van neuropsychologische tests en hersengolvenmetingen (ERP). Dat was een goede voorbereiding voor mijn werk hier,
dat voornamelijk betrekking heeft op de voorzijde van de hersenen. Nu reis ik dus iedere dag met de trein tussen Leuven en Maastricht
- met de laptop op mijn schoot.
Sabine Filla
There I was, back home at my parents’ place in Germany. After moving out four years ago in order
to study psychology at the University of Maastricht, my parents were “delighted” to be able to take
care of me again. In the summer of 2006 I handed in my master thesis for the track Experimental
Health Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Remco Havermans. I had a great time working in
the lab and doing research about eating behavior (sensory-specific satiety). After that, I relaxed and
took a nice long vacation. Back home I wondered what to do next and what job to apply for. Luckily,
the next day a good friend from Maastricht called me with exciting news: The Faculty of Psychology
was urgently looking for a communication officer for the Research Master. I was very enthusiastic and
applied for this job immediately. I really liked the idea to go back to Maastricht and to work at my
old faculty. Furthermore, I was convinced that this job would suit me very well, since I had already
gained a lot of experience in communication and administration during my time before Maastricht.
Luckily, it worked out very fast. I really enjoy being part of a motivated team that works hard to set
up a challenging program for talented students.
Ermo Daniëls
Since the first of October 2006 you have been able to find me at the Faculty of Psychology every
Wednesday in room 5.738. I support the acquisition of national & international grants, contracts
and agreements in the 2 nd (NWO, ZONMW), 3 rd (FP7, Socrates) and 4th (institutes, Ministries,
industry) funding stream of the university. General information concerning grants and contracts
is disclosed as well at the website www.contractresearch.nl. My e- mail address is ermo.daniels@
bu.unimaas.nl and my phone no. is 85672. For ten years now, I have been supporting the acquisition
of funding on various topics. From 2001 onwards I have been conducting this line of work for
the UM. Regarding the university the trend is that the direct (first) funding stream of the Ministry
will be further reduced and that the importance for additional income increases. This additional
income is necessary to realize your ambitions in education and research, and will have a positive
influence on future allocation of direct (first) funding as well.Therefore, it is of the utmost importance
to strengthen the acquisition for additional income. Three strategies are at the basis of my
approach to obtain “structural acquisition from structural funding agencies”. These strategies
are: 1) Select only a few funding agencies and become excellent in obtaining their grants (focus). 2) Submit proposals on a regularly
basis, be informed, learn both from negative as well as positive feedback of evaluation reports. Develop “best practices”! If possible
take part in evaluation committees. 3) Funding agencies are likely to support again when projects are successful executed (objectives
realized and adequate financial administration). So, I am here for you to support you in the search for additional income to (in the
end) realize your ambitions. My motto is: ‘for (almost) every project idea there is a funding possibility!’