I am a PhD candidate at the Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC) at the University of Amsterdam. My research focuses on the role of language in academic success in linguistically diverse higher education.

Within my PhD project, I investigate how students' linguistic backgrounds, language proficiency, and experiences of studying through an additional language relate to academic achievement. I am interested in understanding whether language-related differences in academic outcomes exist, and also the mechanisms through which they may arise and the ways in which educational contexts and curricula can support students with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

My research combines different approaches. I examine existing evidence on language-related factors and academic success, analyse large-scale university data to investigate relationships between students' linguistic backgrounds, programme characteristics, and academic outcomes, and study students' experiences of learning through a language that is not their first or most familiar academic language. Across these studies, I am interested in factors such as academic language and literacy, cognitive demands, motivation, self-regulated learning, and the language support provided within higher-education curricula.

My PhD is part of REACH: Research on Educational Success, Academic Language, and Curricula in Higher Education, an NKO-funded research project conducted at the University of Amsterdam and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. REACH investigates the role of language in higher education, including academic language development, language-supportive curricula, and factors associated with academic achievement, with the broader aim of contributing to evidence-informed and equitable higher-education policy and practice.

For updates on the REACH project, you can follow our LinkedIn page.

I am interested in language, cognition, and education. In particular, in multilingualism and learning, academic language and literacy, language-related educational inequalities, English-medium instruction, and the cognitive demands associated with learning through an additional language.

More broadly, in how cognitive and linguistic processes unfold dynamically over time and how individual differences interact with learning environments. My methodological interests include quantitative and longitudinal methods, intensive longitudinal data, causal reasoning, and interdisciplinary approaches combining applied linguistics, cognitive science, and educational research.

Before starting my PhD, I completed the Research Master's in Brain and Cognitive Sciences (MSc) at the University of Amsterdam, specialising in Cognitive Science. My research focused on cognitive dynamics and the use of intensive longitudinal methods to study within-person variation in cognitive performance. I have also completed a Master's in Philosophy (MA) and a Bachelor's in English Language and Literature (BA).

I also have an extensive background in language education and academic English. Before moving into research, I taught English for Academic Purposes and English as a Foreign Language in higher education for more than fifteen years. This combination of applied linguistics, language education, and cognitive science informs my current interdisciplinary research on language and academic success.

Alongside my PhD research, I am involved in academic community-building and science communication. I am a core team member of Young NeurolabNL, supporting initiatives for early-career researchers in brain, cognition, and behaviour in the Netherlands. I also serve as an editor for Mind, Brain, and Education Magazine, contributing to editorial work and the communication of research across neuroscience, cognition, and education.