Annabel Nijhof

Welcome! I am Annabel Nijhof, a researcher in psychology / neuroscience. I just started a new postdoctoral position within the Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology at Ghent University. Before this, I worked together with Prof Dr Geoff Bird (2 years as a Newton International Fellow at King’s College London), and with Prof Dr Roeljan Wiersema (3 years FWO Junior Fellowship) on projects related to the ‘self’ in autism.

Generally, my research interests focus on the behavioural and neural processes underlying how we engage and interact with others, and how we distinguish the ‘self’ from the ‘other’. I am particularly interested in the similarities and differences in these processes between individuals with an autism diagnosis and neurotypical individuals. In 2017, I completed my Ph.D. project on the topic of spontaneous mentalizing in adults with autism in Ghent, Belgium.

Further, I am passionate about science communication (see ‘Media’ or my Twitter): I write a column (and occasional articles) for ‘Psyche & Brein’ and am co-editor-in-chief at In-Mind Nederland. In addition, I volunteer for the Flemish Autism Society.

Curriculum Vitae (02-11-2022)

On this page I will focus on my research, but here’s the link to my personal blog, written in Dutch (as I also like writing… and reading, traveling, discovering new music).