Nynke van der Laan

Linocut portrait by Ivo van Leeuwen

Part of the portrait series Women in Academia

Academic Portrait

"How can innovative technologies help people to lead healthier lives? This question is central to my research. To be able to answer this question, first of all, fundamental knowledge is required of the psychological mechanisms that are at the basis of health-related behaviors. I studied the attention and brain processes that play a role in healthy food choices and how they are impacted by different conditions (sleep deprivation, appetite) and personal factors (e.g., impulsiveness, development). Secondly, it is important to know how interventions can affect these processes. I focus on the unique characteristics of digital interventions that offer opportunities for behavioral change that did not exist before. In this way, mobile technology can be used to provide interventions at any time of day and so intervene in the choice process to prevent an unhealthy choice from being made. Virtual Reality and interactive stories offer the possibility of providing tailored nutritional communications.

Given the multidisciplinary nature of the study, I collaborate with researchers from different fields, so although you are now looking at the portrait of one person, my output is the product of team efforts in collaboration with talented PhD students, postdocs, and other researchers.

My educational activities involve coordinating the New Media Design track of the Communication and Information Sciences program. Furthermore, I use my knowledge to benefit society. For instance, as a member of the Behavioral Sciences Taskforce of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, I contributed to the development and evaluation of the CoronaMelder app. I am also an active board member of the Association for Research in Psychology and Health (ARPH)."