Bernet Elzinga

Bernet Elzinga’s innovative work is deepening our understanding of one of the key causes of human suffering: early-life stress. She combines neurobiological, physiological and observational data to study the effect of stressful experiences on brain development and wellbeing in young people and adults. Elzinga has shown that stress can shape the developing brain, with significant long-term effects on the mental health of the person who has experienced it, but also on subsequent generations. Elzinga has co-initiated various family studies on stress and depression. She is also committed to turning research findings into effective stress-reduction interventions, for example for parents of depressed adolescents.