I received my MSc degree in Neuropsychology and PhD degree in Epidemiology from the VU medical center Amsterdam, the Netherlands. From 2000 until 2002, I worked as a post-doc at the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics of the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam where I studied steroid hormones as risk factors for dementia using data from the Rotterdam Study. From 2002 until 2022, I worked at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care (University Medical Center Utrecht), first as Assistant Professor, and since 2006 as Associate Professor where I initiated, conducted, and supervised research within the department of Epidemiology. I also developed, coordinated and taught epidemiology courses within the Biomedical Sciences (BSc), Medicine (BSc and MSc), and MSc Epidemiology curriculum. I supervised around 40 MSc and BSc students during their research and completing their MSc or BSc thesis. Additionally, I mentored a substantial number of research assistants, PhD candidates, and postdoctoral fellows. I am a PI of the research programs Circulatory Health (research theme Cerebrovascular disease) and Brain within the UMC Utrecht. 

Since May 2022, I am head of the section Research and member of the management team of the department of General Practice at Amsterdam UMC. Since January 2023, I am affiliated with the Julius Center (UMC Utrecht) as a guest researcher.

Within the UMC Utrecht, I lead the SMART-MR study, a sub-study of the UCC-SMART study. The SMART-MR study (SMART-MR study) is an ongoing prospective cohort study among 1309 non-demented, independently living middle-aged to older adults with manifest arterial disease, aimed to investigate determinants and consequences of brain changes on MRI, including depression and cognitive decline. Individuals were assessed at up to three visits: at baseline, 4 years, and 12 years follow-up. I am also PI of the Medea 7T study, a cohort study in the UMC Utrecht, aimed to investigate determinants and consequences of microstructural brain abnormalities on 7 tesla brain MRI. With the UCC-SMART study and SMART-MR study I participate in national and international consortia, including the Netherlands Consortium for Dementia Cohorts (NCDC), the Psychosocial factors and cancer incidence (PSY-CA) consortium, and the CHARGE consortium. Starting in 2023, I also participate in the BIRD-NL consortium.

Internationally, I have longstanding collaborations with the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, USA (dr. Lenore Launer) where I published using data from the Honolulu Asia Aging Study and the AGES-Reykjavik Study.

Research line

Epidemiology of cerebrovascular disease and brain health.

Publications

in PubMed:

geerlings mi OR (geerlings m AND (gerritsen OR nazareth)) OR (ggeerlings mi AND Scarth M AND Vonk JM AND Gerritsen L) - Search Results - PubMed (nih.gov)

Epidemiology of cerebrovascular disease and brain health.

My research group focuses on risk factors and consequences of cerebrovascular disease and brain health in mid and late life, with the goal to identify those individuals at high risk during the earliest stages of the disease and find clues for preventive measures. Risk factors of interest include biological (including genetic), environmental, social, cognitive, and emotional determinants. Outcomes include stroke, late-life depression, cognitive decline and dementia. We use epidemiological and neuroimaging techniques, i.e., structural brain MRI, through longitudinal observational cohort studies. We model clustering and trajectories of risk factors and outcomes throughout the lifespan within cohorts such as the SMART-MR study, WHICAP, the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study, and the AGES-Reykjavik Study. We use neuroimaging techniques in epidemiological studies to investigate the role of cerebral small and large vessel changes and neurodegeneration in the etiology of stroke, depression, and dementia.

We strive for an interdisciplinary approach that combines different areas of expertise into an innovative research field with the ultimate goal to optimize and maintain brain health throughout the lifespan.

Keywords:

Epidemiology, longitudinal, observational, cohort, trajectory modeling, magnetic resonance imaging, cardiovascular disease, dementia, cognition, depression, stress, life course, aging, brain health.