Wendy de Vaal

Wendy de Vaal is a Researcher at Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, affiliated with the Nursing department and the People and Well-being research group. She has served as a teacher, internship supervisor, and international coordinator for the Nursing program in Mechelen since 2009, expanding her role in 2023 to include research leadership for the “Samen aan Z” Interreg Flanders-Netherlands project within the Prevention and empowerment research line.

Her educational background includes:

• MSc in Medical Social Sciences
• Bachelor in Nursing

Her research focuses on enhancing accessibility, effectiveness, and feasibility of prevention strategies in care and well-being contexts, with specialized expertise in mental health nursing and empowerment frameworks. Her clinical background directly informs her interdisciplinary approach to developing practical health interventions.

As an educator, she oversees student internships and international coordination for nursing programs, leveraging 15+ years of clinical experience including prior roles as head nurse in a general hospital's mental health department and researcher at Ghent University.

She actively contributes to the People and Well-being research group's mission through community-engaged projects that bridge clinical practice and academic research in the Flanders-Netherlands region.