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Dr. S.J. (Sanne) van der Wal

Dr. S.J. (Sanne) van der Wal

Dr. S.J. (Sanne) van der Wal

Role
Postdoctoral researcher

Biography

Sanne studied Health and Life Sciences (BSc) and Clinical and Developmental Psychopathology (MSc) at VU University Amsterdam. Her interest lies in the epidemiology and the developmental mechanisms of psychiatric disorders. During her studies, she was involved for several years in research into the still relatively unknown condition Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) of the AMC Psychiatry. In addition, she spent six months conducting research at Johns Hopkins University in the United States on the relationship between personality disorders and the development of major depressive episodes. Sanne worked as a PhD student at the Brain Research and Innovation Centre from 2017 till 2021. 

Overview of projects within the BRAIC

Sanne worked on the 'Prospection In Stress-related Military Research' (PRISMO) study. Within this large-scale project, she investigated the prevalence figures for various psychiatric symptoms ten years after deployment to Afghanistan, as well as the course of these complaints over time. In addition, she was involved in the identification of risk and protective factors for the development of psychological complaints in the psychological, biological and social field using new statistical techniques. 

Publications

  • van der Wal, S.J., Gorter, R., Reijnen, A.,  Geuze, E., Vermetten, E. (2019). Cohort profile: the Prospective Research In Stress-Related Military Operations (PRISMO) study in the Dutch Armed Forces. BMJ Open, 9, e026670
  • van der Wal, S.J., Bienvenu III, O.J., Romanoski, A.J., Eaton, W.W., Nestadt, G., Samuels, J. (2018) Longitudinal relationship between personality disorder dimensions and depression in a community population. Neurology, Psychiatry and Brain Research, 30, 56-61.
  • Blom, R.M., van der Wal, S.J., Vulink, N.C., Denys, D. (2017). The role of sexuality in Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID): a cross-sectional internet-based survey study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 14, 1028-1035.
  • Blom, R.M., Vulink, N.C., van der Wal, S.J., Nakamae, T., Tan, Z., Derks, E.M., & Denys, D. (2016). Body integrity identity disorder crosses culture: description of two Japanese and Chinese case studies. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 1419-1423.
  • Blom, R.M., van Wingen, G.A., van der Wal, S.J., Luigjes, J., van Dijk, M.T., Scholte, H.S., & Denys, D. (2016). The desire for amputation or paralyzation: evidence for structural brain anomalies in Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID). PLoS One, 11, e0165789.
  • Peper, C.E., van der Wal, S.J., Begeer, S. (2016). Autism in action: Reduced bodily connectedness during social interactions? Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1862.