Elke Butterbrod

Elke Butterbrod serves as Assistant Professor in Clinical Neuropsychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam's Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences. Her research investigates cognitive and Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) data across aging, dementia, and neuro-oncological diseases, focusing on subjective cognitive decline and transdiagnostic symptomatology.

Her work employs a transdiagnostic framework to address shared challenges in cognitive assessment, including limited translation of clinic-based evaluations to real-world settings and the need for granular cognitive dysfunction metrics. Current projects examine prognostic value of cognitive measures from amyloid-positive individuals to post-brain tumor patients, aiming to improve clinical monitoring and treatment planning through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Recent publications (2024-2025) reveal consistent focus on cognitive test validation in brain tumor populations, prediction of post-surgical cognitive trajectories, and amyloid-related cognitive decline mechanisms. These studies demonstrate cross-disease applications of neuropsychological assessment, emphasizing the relationship between cognitive metrics and daily functioning across neurodegenerative and neuro-oncological conditions.

Dr. Butterbrod supervises student theses and has served as PhD supervisor since 2023. Her active research portfolio includes:

• Characterizing cognitive symptomatology in older adults with brain tumors (2024-2028)
• TAP dementia - digital assessment of daily functioning in primary care (ongoing since 2023)
• Evidence and clinical considerations for cognitive rehabilitation (2022-2023, completed)

She operates within VU Amsterdam's Clinical Neuropsychology research group, coordinating teaching activities across bachelor's and master's programs while leading methodological development in cognitive assessment protocols.