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GUTS July 2025 Newsletter
News, Resources & Inspiring Insights!
Dear GUTS researchers and supporters,
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As summer is in full swing, we're excited to share a fresh edition of the GUTS newsletter, packed with updates, reflections, and inspiration from across the consortium. In this issue, we highlight major progress within the work packages, the release of the 2024 Activity Report, and the publication of the GUTS Special Issue in the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Journal.
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We’re also excited to share that several GUTS members have recently received new research grants. In this edition, you’ll find highlights from recent events, including the GUTS Consortium Day on self-regulation, the PhD & Postdoc Day, and our participation in the Leiden Knowledge Festival. We look back at a festive lustrum weekend with De Jonge Akademie and a special evening where GUTS and MIND Us co-hosted an inspiring Diner Pensant, focused on creating a better future for young people by connecting science, society, and youth voices. Exciting plans are in the making—and you’ll get a sneak peek at what’s coming up!
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Plus, we spotlight a variety of outreach activities and for your well-deserved summer downtime, we’ve got a fresh round of book recommendations!
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As always, we love hearing from you. Do you have a story, insight, or suggestion for future newsletters? Let us know via guts@eur.nl.
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Wishing you a restful and inspiring summer,
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In this newsletter...
- Research Updates
- News
- New GUTS team members
- Impact
- Media recommendations
We hope you enjoy this edition!
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WORK PACKAGE 1 AMSTERDAM: SES & EDUCATION
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During the "Week of Money" the WP1 Amsterdam team gave four days of presentations, receiving positive feedback. By the end of summer, 280 participants will have been scanned! Preparations for wave 2 are underway.
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WORK PACKAGE 1 ROTTERDAM: SES & EDUCATION
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WP1 Rotterdam is continuing participant inclusion and is keeping a close eye on sample balance. The dataset is being saved and reviewed regularly. Miriam has started as the new postdoc. Scanner optimization is underway, and new scan sessions are being planned for September.
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WORK PACKAGE 2: SOCIAL NETWORKS
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WP2 celebrated the 100th MRI participant in the T1 data collection and thanked interns for their great work. In June, the T2 behavioral data collection took place, a strong collaboration between the GUTS locations Leiden and Groningen. New Research Assistants Joëlle and Chandeny joined the team.
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WORK PACKAGE 3: GUTS GO
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WP3 gained momentum with 25 new sign-ups in a single day and 16 participants already scheduled. Carmen Mendes de Leon joined as the new MRI operator, and Carmen-Silva Sergiou is now accompanying police during their shifts. New partners PIT (Preventief Interventie Traject) and iHub have come on board. With the age range now extended to 10–16, secondary schools are starting to participate as well. A busy scanning season is coming up!
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WORK PACKAGE 4: INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT
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WP4 is progressing well. The self-regulation day was valuable and will be continued. Sample transport is running smoothly.
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WORK PACKAGE 5: RESPONSIBLE PREDICTIVE MODELING
WP5 continues work on the Stacked Domain Learning (SDL) framework. The empirical test using ABCD data is progressing.
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GUTS Special Issue Published
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We’re proud to announce the GUTS Special Issue “The Neurobiological and Societal Development of Young People” in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience! This collection of 17 papers explores why some youth engage actively in society while others disengage, offering insights from leading experts in developmental and social-cognitive neuroscience. The issue connects brain science with real-world societal challenges, highlighting how young people shape—and are shaped by—their communities.
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KNAW Early Career Partnership Grant & Young NeurolabNL Leadership for Carmen-Silva Sergiou
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Carmen-Silva Sergiou has received the KNAW Early Career Partnership Grant 2025! Together with Lucres Nauta-Jansen, Josanne van Dongen, Maaike Kempes, and Ilse van de Groep, she will organise a two-day symposium to establish FORNEUROTECH—a sustainable knowledge network connecting scientists and practitioners to advance forensic neurobiology and technology. The event will also link up with the international SIG chapter at the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services conference in 2025.
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Carmen also joined the Young NeurolabNL core team, aiming to connect and inspire early-career neuroscientists across the Netherlands
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New NWA Grant for Conflict Prevention Research
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We're exited that Eveline Crone and Ilse van de Groep (Healthy Start Fellow) are leading the youth-focused work package, while Lucres Nauta-Jansen is leading the impact work package in a new NWA-funded consortium coordinated by Floris Klumpers (Radboud University).
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This 8-year collaboration studies conflict escalation, especially between police and youth. Ilse and Eveline investigate how young people regulate emotions under stress and what happens in the brain, using MRI scans at Erasmus MC (a new partnership since Nov 2024). They’ll also test a combined VR and smartwatch intervention. A key element: youth participate actively in shaping the research.
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Anouk van Zwieten
PhD Candidate
WP3
Anouk is a PhD candidate at the Social Brain Lab at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. She is part of the WP3 group within the GUTS project, where she investigates the role of affective empathy in antisocial behavior, with a specific focus on embodied emotions.
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She holds a Research Master’s degree in Cognitive Neuropsychology from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she followed the clinical track. Anouk has a background in clinical and neuropsychological psychology, and her research integrates these perspectives to better understand the emotional and cognitive mechanisms underlying antisocial behavior.
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Chandeny Bennewitz
Research Assistant
WP2
Chandeny joined the GUTS project in May 2025 as a research assistant within Work Package 2 in Leiden. With her neuroscientific background, she has long been fascinated by the brain. She is particularly interested in how the brain develops in interaction with environmental factors. Previously, she worked with a wide range of populations, from healthy centenarians to individuals facing physical or mental health challenges. Now, she is excited to shift her focus to a new and very important population: young people, who she believes represent the future! By joining GUTS, she has the ambition to contribute to neuroscientific research with meaningful societal impact.
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Fun fact: In another life, Chandeny would probably be a fish. She loves the sea and enjoys catching waves while surfing in warm, sunny places whenever she gets the chance!
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Miriam Hollarek
Postdoc
Miriam is interested in how environmental factors contribute to individual differences in adolescents' social-cognitive development and well-being. As part of her postdoc within GUTS, she investigates how socioeconomic status relates to adolescents’ daily stress and resilience, using experience sampling methods (ESM).
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During her PhD, Miriam studied the bidirectional interplay between the peer environment and the development of empathy, perspective-taking, and self-regulation in early adolescence, combining behavioral tasks and neuroimaging techniques. Towards the end of her PhD, she also started working as a lecturer. During this time, she discovered how much she enjoys working with students and sharing her passion for research methodology and developmental psychology.
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Fun fact: When Miriam can’t look at a screen anymore, she heads out into the garden—removing weeds is her favorite meditative practice.
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IMPACT
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Connecting Science and Society: GUTS x MIND Us Dinner
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On May 15, GUTS and MIND Us co-hosted an inspiring Diner Pensant at The Colour Kitchen in Utrecht, focused on creating a better future for young people by connecting science, society, and youth voices.
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With contributions from Margrite Kalverboer (Kinderombudsman), Adnan Tekin (Voorzitter MBO raad), Barbara Braams (Researcher within GUTS, and the brain behind the Hoe?Zo! Show), and Séun Steenken (Co-Founder The Next Way, beleidsmedewerker, Spoken Word artiest), the evening featured rich conversations, creative table sessions, and powerful performances. Guests from youth organizations, research institutes, and policy came together to turn insights into action.
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Magician Hamza Karimi reminded us how deeply connected we truly are, and Robbert Dijkgraaf closed the evening with a hopeful message for the future.
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The evening was shaped by the creative energy of our GUTS Strategic Youth Board—Hanna Gonsalves, Aykan Guzelkucuk, Rashawn Martina, Cesar Verhoeven, Chris de Nijs, and Lotte Prins—alongside Kitty de Vries (GUTS knowledge broker), and was moderated by Amine Bakkali. With this team, every gathering is full of surprises—thank you for launching this new way of working with such energy and care!
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Following the GUTS x MIND Us dinner, exciting steps are being taken toward a new collaboration aimed at supporting young people. The idea is to create a space where different kinds of knowledge and experience can come together. Starting small, the focus will be on themes that matter to youth, with room to grow over time. The initiative has been warmly received and will continue to take shape with expert input.
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GUTS 2024 Activity Report
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We’re halfway through 2025, but before looking too far ahead, let’s take a moment to reflect on 2024! The GUTS 2024 Activity Report captures key milestones, from cutting-edge research on adolescent brain development to impactful youth engagement, new collaborations, and publications.
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This report highlights our shared progress across the consortium and how we’re working to turn knowledge into real-world impact.
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GUTS PhD & Postdoc Day
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GUTS Early-career researchers kicked off the day with an interactive workshop led by Annemarie Horn on interdisciplinary teamwork. Using fictional characters and a practical collaboration model, participants explored how disciplinary differences can influence communication, expectations, and collaboration and how to turn those differences into strengths. After lunch, PhD candidates pitched their projects to special guest Ronald Dahl (Distinguished Professor in the School of Public Health UC Berkeley and Founding Director of the Center for the Developing Adolescent), sparking valuable feedback and fresh ideas.
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GUTS Consortium Day: Exploring Self-Regulation
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On May 16, GUTS consortium members gathered for an event centered on self-regulation. The day featured a lecture of Hilde Huizenga about Self-regulation, interactive sessions hosted by the PhD candidates, a social lunch, and even a fun stretch break to re-energize (see photo!).
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GUTS on the Streets of Amsterdam and Rotterdam
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GUTS campaign posters are live on JCDecaux billboards throughout Amsterdam and Rotterdam! We’re excited to bring the project into public view and connect with even more young people across the city.
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Have you spotted one yet?
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GUTS at the Leiden Knowledge Festival
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The GUTS Leiden team represented GUTS at the Leiden Knowledge Festival. It was a lively and fun event. And best of all: we even connected with a few potential new GUTS participants! Thanks to everyone who stopped by!
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Engaging Youth Through Outreach
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PhD candidates Ethell and Lonneke recently gave a fun and engaging talk on stress and performance pressure among youth at Haganum Gymnasium in The Hague. The students were super enthusiastic, especially about receiving a brain image to take home! Hopefully, we inspired a few new sign-ups for GUTS as well. (P.S. Check out how beautiful that school is!)
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GUTS at the Young Academy’s 20-Year Anniversary
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On July 5, PhD candidates Nathalie and Jule joined the Young Academy’s Lustrum Weekend, celebrating its 20th anniversary with a science event for children aged 8–12. They introduced kids to the brain’s structure and functions through playful, hands-on activities—like making a “brain hat” to explore which brain areas control which body functions, and a blindfolded experience to “feel” the brain. Of course, they also shared exciting insights from the GUTS research!
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Interview with Suzanne van de Groep on Youth and Polarisation
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Suzanne van de Groep was recently interviewed by Nederlands Dagblad for their series on adolescence, focusing on the topic of polarisation among youth. The article explores why young people can be sensitive to “us vs. them” thinking, but also how they can play a key role in building bridges between groups.
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MEDIA RECOMMENDATIONS
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Book: Een Dag in Ons Brein
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Did you know your brain keeps changing throughout your entire life? From infancy to old age, every experience shapes your brain and who you are. In this book, neuroscientist Eveline Crone explains brain development in a clear and relatable way, showing how it influences both you and the people around you.
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Book/audiobook: Diary of a Child Psychologist
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This book offers insightful and accessible reflections on resilience, self-regulation, and coping with challenges in children and adolescents. Told with warmth and clarity, Diary of a Child Psychologist is both informative and enjoyable—perfect for anyone working with or curious about young people’s development.
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Erasmus Summer Activity Book for Curious Kids
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Do you know a curious young mind who loves asking “Why?”, “How does this work?”, or “What happens if…”? The Erasmus University Summer Doeboek is made just for them!
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This playful activity book is designed for primary school students (groups 6, 7, and 8) to explore science through mini-experiments, puzzles, and hands-on research. Kids step into the shoes of real scientists and discover that science isn’t just lab coats and textbooks, it’s all about curiosity, creativity, and asking questions. Perfect for summer holidays and easy to print at home!
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We need your input!
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Do you have ideas to enhance our newsletter? Or do you want to share your story with the GUTS community? Feel free to reach out!
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GUTS is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW)
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Research programme: Gravitation file number: 024.005.011
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