Lenneke Alink

Lenneke Alink serves as Professor of Forensic Family Pedagogy and Scientific Director of the Institute of Education and Child Studies at Leiden University's Faculty of Social Sciences. Her expertise focuses on translating research into practical interventions for child abuse, neglect, and protection systems, with significant influence on Dutch youth care policies.

Her academic foundation includes a PhD from Leiden University (2006), followed by a Rubicon-funded visiting scholarship at the University of Minnesota's Center for Child Development (2006-2008). She previously held the Jan Brouwer Chair in Prevention, Consequences, and Response to Child Abuse at VU University Amsterdam (2012-2017) and was a member of the KNAW Young Academy.

Alink's research integrates neurobiological mechanisms with clinical practice to examine stress regulation in parenting, intergenerational abuse transmission, and decision-making in child protection cases. Her work spans domestic violence, foster care systems, and secure attachment development, emphasizing evidence-based approaches for vulnerable children.

Key recognitions include:

• NWO Rubicon grant
• NWO VIDI grant
• KNAW Ammodo Prize

As Scientific Director, she leads interdisciplinary collaborations through Leiden's Social Resilience and Security initiative, regularly engaging with media and practitioners to shape child welfare discourse—recently addressing topics like VR-assisted grief processing and enhancing children's testimonies in police interrogations.