MSc. Rick van Dorp

RESEARCH:

During my bachelor I developed an interest in the source of behavior, in particular I got interested in sleep cycles and seasonal effects. I have been able to develop this interest during several research internships in the field of circadian rhythms, focusing on sleep and the effects of light.

In my PhD project I am investigating the influence of different photoperiods (hours of light during the day) during the perinatal period on sleep and circadian rhythms later in life. Photoperiod at birth can have large effects on mental health and neural functioning in both rodents and humans and some previous association has been found with diabetes type 1, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. I will use behavioral, electrophysiological and epigenetic analysis to find the underlying affected systems, focusing on the effect on the circadian rhythm and sleep.

CURRICULUM VITAE:

I completed my bachelor in Biology at Leiden University in 2014 and my master in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Amsterdam in 2018. During my education I had the opportunity to do several sleep- and circadian rhythm-related internships at the University of Amsterdam, And at Stockholm University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. In 2016 and 2017 I worked as a research assistant with prof Axelsson at the Karolinska Institute and the University of Stockholm, where I looked at sleep and waking processes and conditioning during sleep.

I started my PhD-project in group of Prof J. H. Meijer, under supervision of Tom de Boer in September 2020.