I started my PhD research in August 2024 within the Department of Molecular Epidemiology at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Eline Slagboom, Dr. Marian Beekman, and Dr. Niels van den Berg.

I have a multidisciplinary background, having obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (with distinction), a Master’s degree in Genetics (with distinction) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and an MBA at the University of Amsterdam. During my time at the Vrije Universiteit, I worked at the Department of Biological Psychology, where I conducted research into the heritability of well-being in different ancestral populations, the interplay of genes and environmental factors in autism, GWAS of brain structures (cerebellum), and biological age (particularly epigenetic and brain).

During my PhD research, I will study the interplay of genes and environmental factors in longevity. Using data from various cohort studies, we aim to better understand the important underlying mechanisms involved in delayed disease incidence in long-lived families.

Key scientific publications:

Sant’Anna Barbosa Ferreira, P. et al. Epigenetic age acceleration in peripheral blood correlates with brain-MRI age acceleration. Brain awaf069 (2025) doi:10.1093/brain/awaf069