Niels van der Aa

Dr. Niels van der Aa is an Assistant Professor at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA) in the department of Oral Public Health. He also holds an ancillary role as a staff member (Medewerker) at Nyenrode Business Universiteit since 2012. His research focuses on wellbeing, individual differences in adolescents, and the genetic and environmental influences on behavior, including sleep duration, sedentary behavior, and mental health conditions like PTSD. Recent work includes studies on refugees with PTSD and methodological reviews in dental patient-reported outcomes.

Key research interests include psychological aspects of mental health, behavioral genetics, and public health. His publications span topics such as dissociative subtypes in PTSD, sedentary behavior genetics, and the interplay between exercise and wellbeing in adolescents. He teaches courses in evidence-based dentistry and research methods.