PEOPLE

Group leader

Marloes JAG Henckens, PhD

Associate professor / Junior principal investigator
Department of Medical Neuroscience
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior
Radboudumc
Nijmegen, the Netherlands

PhD students

Sevgi Bahtiyar, MSc

Project: Memory generalization by stress: a neurobiological investigation into the effects of glucocorticoids on modulating memory accuracy and systems consolidation
Co-supervised with Prof. Benno Roozendaal

Kari Bosch, MSc

Project: A positive take on depression: augmenting antidepressant efficacy by inducing juvenile-like GABAergic plasticity
Co-supervised with Prof. Judith Homberg, Dr. Dirk Schubert & Dr. Janna Vrijsen

Ana Carolina Temporao Marques Filipe , MSc

Project: Neuro-epigenetic mechanisms of aberrant memory processing in PTSD

Co-supervised by Dr. Kubra Gulmez-Karaca, Dr. Johannes Graeff (EPFL) & Prof. Judith Homberg

I am using a mouse model of PTSD to compare the trauma memory trace (or "engram") between susceptible and resilient mice. I began by examining the spatial distribution of the engram in key brain regions involved in memory processing. Next, I am comparing the expression levels of a selected epigenetic marker and analyzing gene expression differences between the two groups. These are promising initial steps towards uncovering how neuro-epigenetic mechanisms mediate individual differences in stress resilience.

Angelos Didachos, MSc

Project: Spatiotemporal mapping of maladaptive fear memory in trauma susceptibility
Co-supervised by Dr. Marloes Henckens and Dr. Sabrina van Heukelum

I investigate the fear memory engram in stress-resilient and susceptible mice. By utilizing traditional immunohistochemical approaches as well as brain clearing, I capture the memory engrams related to encoding and recall of aversive experiences, thus creating spatiotemporal maps of fear memories in stress-susceptible and resilient populations. My primary focus is the amygdala, a critical hub for integrating sensory input into emotional memories.

Postdocs

Kubra Gulmez-Karaca, PhD

Project: Stress effects on memory accuracy vs generalization: Testing a new model based on influencing the temporal dynamics of memory consolidation
Co-supervised with Prof. Benno Roozendaal

Sabrina van Heukelum, PhD

Research assistants

Melissa Veendijk

I graduated from the HU, Utrecht, with a bachelor's degree in "Biological Medical Laboratory Research" (life sciences) with the specialization in Zoology. I also hold the article 13f2 which means that I am qualified to work as a biotechnician. During my final internship, I studied the neurological effects of Anorexia nervosa in rat's brains. I then joined the Henckens stress group in September 2023 as a research assistant and have been helping with animal behavioral experiments and surgery work for the members of the lab.

Thibault Apipong Merkelijn, MSc

I graduated from the University of Rouen, France with a bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology. After my bachelor's, I moved to Nijmegen where I obtained a master's degree in Medical Biology at the Radboud University with a specialization in Neurobiology between 2022 and 2024. I first joined the Henckens stress lab during my master's as an intern and now as a research assistant since September 2024. I am helping the different research projects in the group.

Students

Nika Englebert

Supervision: Melissa Veendijk

Anna Alikhanbeigi

Supervision: Ana Carolina

Sjoerd Jacobs

Supervision: Sabrina v. Heukelum

Emanuela Pirani

Supervision: Ana Carolina

Samantha Dillisse

Supervision: Angelos DiDachos

Alumni

Chunan Guo, PhD
Project: Modulation of neutral episodic memories by stress hormones (norepinephrine and corticosterone) over time
Co-supervised with Prof. Benno Roozendaal

Dewi van der Geugten, PhD

Project: Better safe than sorry? The role of the extended amygdala circuitry in generalized fear and anxiety

Co-supervised by Prof. Judith Homberg & Prof. Hans van Bokhoven

Maxime Houtekamer, PhD

Project: Discovering a neural signature of emotional memory reconsolidation across memory systems

Co-supervised with Dr. Erno Hermans & Prof. Judith Homberg

Bart Dirven, PhD

Project: (Epi)genetic signature of susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder

Co-supervised by Prof. Judith Homberg & Prof. Tamas Kozicz

Archana Kolikil, PhD

Project: Effects of early life stress on the gut-brain axis and the development of the neuronal stress response.
Co-supervised with Prof. Judith Homberg

Qi Song, PhD

Project: Neurobiological underpinnings of noradrenergic modulation of item memory

Co-supervised with Prof. Benno Roozendaal

Graeme Preston, PhD

External PhD student at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Project: Inter-individual differences in mitochondrial function and susceptibility to stress-related psychopathology
Co-supervised with Prof. Tamas Kozicz

Pieter Schipper, PhD

Project: Smart coping: serotonin transporter gene variation and environment interact in determining the behavioral adaptation to stress

Co-supervised with Dr. Judith Homberg & Prof. Tamas Kozicz

Thesis defense: 20/10/2017