About us

The Center for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies Leiden (IPS) aims to advance the understanding of placebo and nocebo effects, their underlying mechanisms, and their potential applications in clinical practice. IPS consists of a group of interdisciplinary researchers working at Leiden University with the goal to study placebo and nocebo effects in various contexts, develop training and education in the area of placebo effects, and finding ways to successfully apply this knowledge to clinical practice. 

Mission and Goal

Our Mission is to advance the understanding of placebo and nocebo effects, their underlying mechanisms, and their potential applications in clinical practice. We seek to conduct rigorous scientific research that illuminates the ways in which these effects can be harnessed to improve patient outcomes and reduce negative side effects of medical interventions. Our team is dedicated to creating innovative solutions for healthcare providers, including evidence-based training programs and tools, that can enhance placebo effects and mitigate nocebo effects.

We recognize the importance of patient input and collaboration, and we work closely with patient organizations to ensure that our research is patient-centered. We also involve patients and health care providers as co-investigators in our studies to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence placebo and nocebo effects. 

As part of our national and international collaboration, we participate in international consortia and networks to share our findings, collaborate on research studies, and learn from the experiences of other researchers in the field. 

Finally, we believe that public outreach is essential for promoting understanding of placebo and nocebo effects. That's why we organize public outreach events, such as lectures and workshops, to share our findings with the wider community and engage in a dialogue about the power of placebo and nocebo effects. 

Research team 

We are a multidisciplinary team of more than 20 researchers at different levels, including professors, postdocs, PhD candidates and master level students. Our team brings together diverse expertise from psychology, communication, medicine, and neuroscience. 

 

Principal Investigators

Dr. Sylvia van Beugen

Dr. Sylvia van Beugen

Assistant Professor at the department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology at Leiden University

  Bio
Prof. dr. Andrea Evers

Prof. dr. Andrea Evers

Professor of Health Psychology and chair of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Antoinette van Laarhoven

Dr. Antoinette van Laarhoven

Assistant professor in Health and Medical Psychology at Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Stefanie Meeuwis

Dr. Stefanie Meeuwis

Postdoctoral researcher at the Health, Medical, and Neuropsychology Unit at Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Henriet van Middendorp

Dr. Henriet van Middendorp

Associate Professor at the Health, Medical and Neuropsychology unit of Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Kaya Peerdeman

Dr. Kaya Peerdeman

Assistant professor in Health and Medical Psychology at Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Aleksandrina Skvortsova

Dr. Aleksandrina Skvortsova

Postdoctoral researcher at the unit of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology of Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Judy Veldhuijzen

Dr. Judy Veldhuijzen

Associate Professor at the department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology at Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Liesbeth van Vliet

Dr. Liesbeth van Vliet

Assistant Professor at the Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology at Leiden University

  Bio

PhD students

Merve Karacaoglu MSc

Merve Karacaoglu MSc

Hans van Lennep MSc

Hans van Lennep MSc

Simone Meijer MSc

Simone Meijer MSc

Gita Nadinda MSc

Gita Nadinda MSc

Anne Versluis MSc

Anne Versluis MSc

Janine Westendorp MSc

Janine Westendorp MSc

Fabian Wolters MSc

Fabian Wolters MSc

PhD students (alumni)

Dr. Danielle Bartels

Dr. Danielle Bartels

Lecturer in applied psychology at Fontys hogescholen

Dr. Stefanie Meeuwis

Dr. Stefanie Meeuwis

Postdoctoral researcher at the Health, Medical, and Neuropsychology Unit at Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Kaya Peerdeman

Dr. Kaya Peerdeman

Assistant professor in Health and Medical Psychology at Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Aleksandrina Skvortsova

Dr. Aleksandrina Skvortsova

Postdoctoral researcher at the unit of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology of Leiden University

  Bio
Dr. Rosanne Smits

Dr. Rosanne Smits

Postdoctoral researcher at RadboudUMC

Dr. Lemmy Schakel

Dr. Lemmy Schakel

Psychologist in training to a GZ psychologist at Yulius

Dr. Judith Tekampe

Dr. Judith Tekampe

Source and Contact Investigator GGD at Yource Netherlands

Dr. Mia Thomaidou

Dr. Mia Thomaidou

Research fellow, School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University

Dr. Lingling Weng

Dr. Lingling Weng

Dr. Joe Blythe

Dr. Joe Blythe

Communication and Management

Dr. Francette Broekman

Dr. Francette Broekman

Sonja van Rees Vellinga MSc

Sonja van Rees Vellinga MSc