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Graduate School
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences

School for Mental Health and Neuroscience

The School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) strives to advance our understanding of brain-behaviour relationships by using an approach integrating various disciplines in neuro- and behavioural science, medicine, and the life sciences. MHeNs performs high-impact neuroscience research and educates master's students and PhD researchers. MHeNs performs translational research, meaning practical collaboration between researchers in the lab and in the hospital .

Fast facts

  • Research continuum from fundamental to clinical and applied research
  • 14 million euros annual budget
  • More than 450 publications annually in Science Citation indexed journals
  • About 375 researchers including 270 PhD students, and 45 support staff
  • Led by Prof.dr. D. Linden
  • Close integration with the Brain and Nerve Centre of MUMC+
  • Close collaboration with the Faculty for Psychology and Neuroscience (Centre for Integrative Neuroscience)
  • Coordinator of the EURON Graduate school
MHeNs website

Research

To perform research at every level, from the cellular to human, MHeNs is organised into three research lines:

  1. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neuroscience – generates new insights into the neurocognitive and neurobehavioural mechanisms in order to improve treatment and care for people with cognitive disorders and other neurological disorders
  2. Mental Health – focusses on the mechanisms through which interactions between individuals and their environments contribute to the development of mental disorder and the impact of mental health services on morbidity
  3. Neuroscience – uncovers the underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative and regenerative processes to improve health and to provide solutions to cure neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders like Alzheimer's disease, Depression, Movement Disorders and Pain

Education

MHeNs is involved in the curricula of several international master's and research master's programmes of both the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences and the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. Internships for students are offered on a broad range of topics within the field of mental health and basic neuroscience. They are also offered independently of the master programme.

Frans Verhey

“Alzheimer was traditionally seen as one uniform concept, but its heterogeneity is now increasingly recognized. In addition, Alzheimer is closely related to various aging mechanisms. This opens new targets for treatment that were ignored so far.”

Read a Dutch interview with Frans Verhey

Thérèse van Amelsvoort

"We aim to understand the etiology of mental disorders by using dimensional approaches applied to ecological, psychological and biological systems. This offers opportunities to develop more individualized treatments and accurate predictive markers that could improve an individual’s quality of life".

Read a Dutch interview with Thérèse van Amelsvoort

Jos Prickaerts

“Our aim is to come up with innovative preventions, diagnoses and treatments for disorders of the nervous system. For this purpose we invest in an innovative research environment to study and unravel the biological and pathological mechanisms from the level of the gene up to behaviour“.

Read a Dutch interview with Jos Prickaerts
  • Research Alzheimer's and MS - Brein

    Important progress made in research on treatment for MS and Alzheimer’s

    Monday, September 9, 2019

    For the first time, in experimental animal models for MS, researchers at Maastricht University (UM) and Hasselt University (UHasselt) have succeeded in restoring the substance myelin, which is degraded by the disease.

    Read more
  • Pilar Martinez

    Relationship between lipids and Alzheimer’s

    Wednesday, September 26, 2018

    Pilar Martinez, newly appointed professor of Neuro-inflammation and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, will deliver her inaugural lecture ‘Lipids and antibodies in neurological and psychiatric diseases’ on Friday 5 October. Four years ago, Martinez began studying the role of lipids – fats – in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. She quickly became convinced that lipids play an important role in the development of this brain disease.  

    Read more

  • Center for Integrative Neuroscience launched

    Wednesday, March 21, 2018

    CIN new interfaculty cooperation for Integrative Neuroscience launched

    Read more
  • Rubicon Grants

    Rubicon grants for two UM researchers

    Friday, April 21, 2017

    Sandra Schipper and Mark van den Hurk, who both took their PhD in December 2016, received a Rubicon grant from research financing institution NWO. This grant gives young, highly promising researchers the opportunity to gain international research experience

    Read more

  • Explorer of the brain

    Tuesday, April 11, 2017 Read more
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Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+) logo

MHeNS works in close cooperation with the Maastricht University Medical Center+ (MUMC+). MUMC+ is known both nationally and internationally for its focus on prevention and taking an integrated approach to health care: from prevention, promotion of good health, and basic care, to top-level clinical diagnostics and treatment. Patient safety is our top priority in all of our endeavours. MUMC+ is part of The Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres.

School for Mental Health and Neuroscience

Marie-Thérèse Moers