Karin Roelofs is Professor of Experimental Psychopathology and chair of the Affective Neuroscience group at the Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour (DI) and Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University Nijmegen (RU).
Her research focuses on the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying stress-resilience and vulnerability. Together with her group, she employs a range of neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, MEG) techniques, combined with neuromodulation (e.g., transcranial ultrasound) and pharmacological interventions, to study emotional control and decision-making processes. Her work investigates defensive stress responses in neurotypical individuals, clinical populations (e.g., anxiety disorders), and longitudinal cohorts of typically developing and at-risk groups – including a large police cohort from the Police-In-Action (PIA) study.
Karin Roelofs is a strong advocate for the role of fundamental science in Europe. She is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), a board member of All European Academies (ALLEA) and Academia Europaea (AE), Vice-President of the Association for ERC Grantees (AERG), and former president of the International Resilience Alliance (INTRESA).
She has received three personal ERC grants, most recently an ERC-Advanced Grant (2025). In addition, she participates in several major collaborative projects (Horizon 2020; NWO crossover; NWA-ORC, NWO-SSH) and is past receipient of several national NWO grants, including a VICI award. In 2020 she was awarded the Evens Science prize, for cognitive neuroscience with societal relevance.
Short CV: After obtaining her Masters’ Degrees in Neuropsychology and in Clinical psychology, she graduated Cum Laude with highest distinction at the RU (2002). Part of her studies she spent as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH: Washington DC, USA). From 2001-2011 she worked as assistant and associate professor, respectively, at Leiden University (Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition: LIBC). Thereafter she moved to the Radboud University where she started the EPAN group “Experimental Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience” at the BSI and the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (DCCN). She is also a BIG-registered healthcare psychologist (GZ-psychologist).
See https://www.roelofs-epan.nl for publications, research statement and information about the EPAN group.