Mirjam Pijnappels

Prof. Mirjam Pijnappels is a Full Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, holding dual affiliations in the Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences (Prevention and Rehabilitation department) and the AMS - Ageing & Vitality group. Her work focuses on mobility in ageing, fall prevention, and assistive technology. She leads projects like In Balans (fall prevention intervention) and MOVITA (wearable tech for gait analysis). She has received prestigious grants including NWO VENI, VIDI, and EU Horizon 2020. She teaches courses such as Challenges in Musculoskeletal Health and Pathologie van het Bewegen.

Research Interests: Experimental studies (neuromuscular/biomechanical analyses), epidemiological studies, technological devices (accelerometry, AI), and fall prevention interventions. Current projects explore exercise-induced fatigue effects and AI in stroke rehabilitation.

Awards and Grants:

• NWO VENI (2006), VIDI (2014), Aspacia (2014), TOP (2010)
• ZonMw (2019, 2021), EU Horizon 2020 (2016, co-PI)

Advising and Grants: Supervised 14 PhD theses. Active in collaborative projects like PreventIT (functional decline in older adults) and REACT (treadmill training).

Labs/Teams: Part of the Human Movement Sciences department and AMS - Ageing & Vitality, contributing to UN SDGs like healthy aging (SDG 3).