I am an assistant professor of developmental psychopathology at the Research Institute of Child Development and Education (RICDE) at the University of Amsterdam. My research interests evolve around child social and emotional development and the role parents play in this development. I studied psychology in Serbia and I came to the Netherlands in 2013 to do my PhD on the longitudinal project of prof. dr Susan Bögels, which focused on the development of childhood social anxiety disorder. After finishing my PhD, I continued and broadened my research on the role of emotions (such as shyness) in child development. Next to being a researcher, I am a mom of two girls: Sarah and Mayla.

Hi, I am Daniek Joosten and I am a research assistant at the University of Amsterdam from October 2021. I successfully finished a research master, Development and Socialization in Childhood and Adolescence, and a clinical master, Clinical Child Family and Education studies, at Utrecht University. I also worked as a volunteer at the Bijzondere Taarten Fabriek where I baked and tasted delicious cakes with people with special needs and as a volunteer in a daycare. I also got experience in conducting research as a student assistant at the Utrecht University where I was involved in projects with babies, toddlers and adolescents. I get positive energy from working, observing, and interacting with children. I love to research, write, read, dance, walk, play volleyball, be creative and think. I therefore also work in the Project Shyness with lots of enthusiasm.

Hi, during my study Orthopedagogiek I worked as a research assistant in several studies at the University of Amsterdam and UvA minds. After obtaining my master's degree in 2010, I did not want to stop doing research and working with families, so I started working as a research assistant at the Research Institute of Child Development and Education department of the University of Amsterdam. At first, I worked within the longitudinal project of prof. dr Susan Bögels and since then I have been involved in several other projects. As the lab coordinator of the Family Lab, I am also responsible for planning and managing all the ongoing studies. Besides working at the UvA, I mostly spend my time with my two sons Ethan and David and daughter Julienne.

My name is Ela, and I am a Psychology student at Cardiff University in Wales, and I’m currently spending my placement year at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences here in Amsterdam. I find studying social cognition very interesting because of how it allows us to understand how people function in every day life. I am also interested in understanding emotions and how they develop, which is why I enjoy working on this research on shyness. Apart from Psychology, I love to go out with friends, spend time at home with my family and walking my dog, and travelling!