Franc Donkers (F.C.L.)

Franc Donkers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and leads the Neurocognitive Development & Mental Health Research Lab. He combines non-invasive brain imaging tools (EEG/ERP/fMRI) with behavioral tasks and questionnaires to study how core systems such as sensory processing, memory, and cognitive control interact over time to shape adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. By applying the same methods across typically developing and clinical groups (such as autism and schizophrenia), he looks for the brain mechanisms that explain why people differ within and across diagnoses, rather than treating disorders as fixed categories. His goal is to translate these insights into objective neurobiological markers that support early risk detection and stratification of vulnerability.