Lab Members
Principal Investigator
Franc Donkers, PhD.
Associate Professor · Department of Cognitive Neuroscience · Maastricht University
Franc’s research focuses on how fundamental sensory and cognitive brain processes shape mental health across development.
He received his PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Tilburg University and completed postdoctoral training at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he co-directed the Neurocognition and Imaging Research Lab and served as Managing Director of the Electrophysiology Research Core at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities. He has contributed to large-scale collaborative efforts including the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS) consortium, and his work has been recognized with a Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation and a Foundation of Hope Early Investigator Award.
At Maastricht, he leads research using Electroencephalography (EEG) alongside behavioral tasks, clinical assessments, self-report measures, and computational modelling to identify neurobiological markers of vulnerability that may support earlier, more individualized approaches to mental health care. He also coordinates the Faculty’s EEG laboratory infrastructure.
PhD Students
Mina Ivaki
Izel Avci
Graduate Students
Duru Akay
Juliana Holowiecka
Katarina Kiepselova
Su Gonen
Research Assistants
Juliette Samson
Luca Rinciog
Interested in joining? See our open positions for current opportunities.