Pauline Jansen

Pauline Jansen is a Full Professor in Developmental Psychopathology at the Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University. She also holds an Associate Professor position at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry / Psychology, Erasmus MC. She is Principal Investigator of the Behaviour & Cognition research group within the Generation R Study, a major population-based birth cohort.

Her research focuses on the development of childhood psychopathologies, including emotional problems, ADHD, autism, and eating disorders. She investigates how sociodemographic factors, parenting, life events, and biological mechanisms influence mental health trajectories from infancy through adolescence. Her work leverages longitudinal data from large-scale studies such as Generation R and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

Her recent publications reveal a strong trend in using epidemiological and neuroimaging methods to explore the etiology and consequences of mental health issues in youth, particularly focusing on eating behaviors, brain structure, prenatal stress, and health inequalities. These studies are published in high-impact journals across psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and public health.

• Comenius early career award of the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations
• Career grants awarded together over €1,000,000
• Member of Young Erasmus Academy

Prof. Jansen is actively involved in supervising research and teaching in the Clinical Child Psychology curriculum. She leads a major research program within Generation R and collaborates internationally with institutions including the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Melbourne) and University College London. Her work is highly collaborative and contributes significantly to understanding and preventing child mental health problems.

She is affiliated with key research initiatives such as the Generation R Study, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, and the Flemish Study on Parenting, Personality and Development, forming a robust network focused on child development and psychopathology.