Speakers
Thom van den Heuvel
Aldo Houterman studied Philosophy (BA/MA) and Artificial Intelligence (BSc) at the University of Amsterdam and is an avid cyclist. After completing his studies, he worked as aresearch assistant at the Department of Psychiatry of the Amsterdam Medical Centre (AMC), contributing to research on the phenomenology of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. In addition, he worked as a freelance lecturer in Ethics and Philosophy at several institutions, including the University of Amsterdam (Faculty of Science), VU University Amsterdam (Business Administration), Leiden University (Institute of Biology), and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (Institutes of Law and Human Movement Studies).
In 2019, he published his philosophical book for a general audience, Wij zijn ons lichaam: wat sport en beweging ons vertellen over menselijk gedrag (We Are Our Body: What Sport and Movement Tell Us About Human Behaviour, Amsterdam: Ambo|Anthos), exploring the philosophy of the body, sport, and movement. Following this publication, he was appointed as Lecturer in Medical Ethics and Philosophy at Amsterdam UMC and as Lecturer and Researcher in the Philosophy of Sport at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
He currently works at Erasmus School of Philosophy as a project manager and researcher in the project Our Sport is for Everyone (OSE), collaborating with sports federations and clubs to address discrimination in sport. His current research focuses on the ethics and philosophy of sport, philosophy of science (medicine, sport and human movement science) and philosophy of technology. Aldo also regularly delivers guest lectures for sports organizations, healthcare institutions, and educational organizations. Moreover, he organizes a bi-monthly philosophical café in Amsterdam’s Rijnbuurt, offering local residents an accessible forum for dialogue on everyday themes such as health, care, and ageing. His academic work has been published in internationally recognized journals including Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, and Environmental Philosophy.
Aldo serves as a member of the Ethics Committee for Dance (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science), where he advises the Ministry and the Dance Safety Alliance on the follow-up of the report Schaduwdansen. He is also a member of the Ethics Committee of the Dutch Association of Sports Medicine (Vereniging voor Sportgeneeskunde, VSG). He is an editor at Wijsgerig Perspectief, reviewer and interviewer for the Tijdschrift voor Gezondheidszorg en Ethiek, and peer reviewer for the academic journals Sport, Ethics and Philosophy and Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy.
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD is a professor of psychology and neuroscience, and director of the Social Connection & Health Lab at Brigham Young University. She is also the founding scientific chair and board member for the U.S. Foundation for Social Connection and the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection.
Dr. Holt-Lunstad is an international scientific expert whose research focuses on the individual and population health effects, biological mechanisms, and effective strategies to mitigate risk and promote protection associated with social connection. Her research has been seminal in the recognition of social isolation and loneliness as risk factors for early mortality. As the lead scientific editor for a US Surgeon General’s Advisory and Framework for a National Strategy, her work also focuses on translating evidence into practice and policy. She serves as a scientific advisor and regularly consults for organizations across sectors aimed at addressing this issue. She has provided expert testimony in a US Congressional Hearing, served as a member of multiple National Academy of Sciences consensus committees, the UK Cross Departmental Loneliness Team, European Joint Research Council, World Health Organization, and a subject matter expert for the Gravity Project, Commit to Connect the national clearinghouse of interventions, and the CDC. Her work has been widely recognized within her discipline, including several awards, and is regularly highlighted in major media outlets.
Professor of Psychology Applied to Medicine in the Department of Health Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Rona Moss-Morris is Professor of Applied Psychology in Medicine at the Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry & Neuroscience, King's College London. She is the thematic lead for digital therapies at the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre. Previously, she was Head of the Department of Psychology.
Over the past 30 years, she has conducted research into psychological factors that influence the experience of symptoms and adaptation to chronic conditions, including multiple sclerosis. This research has been used to develop cognitive-behavioural therapy interventions, including digital interventions, for various patient groups. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of these interventions form a key part of her research.
In 2015, she received the Outstanding Contribution to Research Award from the Health Psychology Division of the British Psychological Society, and in 2020 the Distinguished Contribution to Practice Award from the same organisation.
Her team's work on multiple sclerosis (MS) was recognised in 2013 with the MS Society Annual Award for MS Research of the Year, and their work on irritable bowel syndrome with the King's Excellence in Innovation and Impact Award in 2019.
From 2011 to 2016, she served as a national adviser to NHS England on improving access to psychological therapies for people with long-term and medically unexplained conditions. She is a former editor of Psychology and Health and the current editor of Health Psychology Review.
Anne Krause-Utz obtained her Diploma in Psychology at Mannheim University (Germany) in 2007. Afterwards, she worked as a (post)doctoral researcher at the Central Institute of Mental Health (Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy) in Mannheim. In February 2014, she obtained her PhD degree (summa cum laude) at the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University and became head of the Research Group Stress and Cognition at the Central Institute. She has been trained in Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and worked with patients with different disorders (mainly trauma-related disorders and personality disorders). In 2017, she completed an extra PhD program at Leiden University. Currently, she works as an Assistant Professor and is coordinator of the Internal Practical Internship (IPI).
In her research, Anne Krause-Utz focuses the impact of stress on cognitive functioning (e.g. selective attention, stress-related dissociation, cognitive impulsivity) in trauma-related disorders, focusing mainly on Borderline Personality Disorder and complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Her research combines behavioral, neuropsychological, and psychophysiological methods, as well as neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging).
Winfried Rief is a German psychologist. Since 2000 he has been a professor of clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the Marburg University.
Rief's research examines the psychological factors involved in the development, maintenance and management of physical complaints, including investigations of somatic symptom disorders and placebo effects. Rief is the founding editor of the academic journal Clinical Psychology in Europe.
Silje Endresen Reme is a visiting scientist at Harvard University in the Department of Environmental Health. She has an PsyD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Bergen and a PhD in Health Psychology (also from the University of Bergen). Reme's work has been featured in numerous publications including the European Journal of Pain and the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.
She is an honorary researcher at King's College London, where she focuses on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
She has given keynotes on chronic back pain and the possible psychological causes for it, claiming that it all starts in the mind. In Reme's research, she shows that more back pain is linked to psycho-social factors than to anatomical ones.
Sally Hemming helps organisations create healthier, health inclusive workplaces including where people with long-term health conditions and disabilities can thrive.I am a British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist, Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, researcher and senior people leader with over 25 years' experience advising organisations on workplace health, employee relations incl. disability related litigation, disability inclusion and workforce wellbeing strategies.My career spans leadership roles at Ernst and Young, Jones Lang LaSalle, the Financial Conduct Authority and legal services organisations, where I have designed and led organisation-wide wellbeing, employee relations and inclusion strategies, managed complex people challenges, and supported leaders to create sustainable, high-performing cultures.My PhD in health psychology focused on the workplace support needs of employees with long-term health conditions. This research, combined with my practical experience, gives me a unique perspective on the relationship between health, workability, performance, retention and inclusion.
I support organisations to:
Alongside my work, I contribute to national conversations on health and work through research collaborations, conference speaking and my role as a member of the Department for Work and Pensions' Industrial Injuries Advisory Council.Let's move beyond token health and wellbeing initiatives to create evidence-based workplaces where people can stay healthy, remain in work and perform at their best.
Specialisms: Workplace health and wellbeing • Long-term health conditions • Disability inclusion • Workforce strategy • Employee relations • Reasonable adjustments • Vocational rehabilitation • Occupational health • Wellbeing measurement • Research and evaluation • Health and work policy
Lilian Peters has two roles at the Department of Primary and Long-term Care:
In 2025, I have established FemHealth Data a research data Infrastructure dedicated to improving women’s health by linking and analysing routine care data from general practice, maternity care and hospitals. By combining this data with cohort studies (Lifelines ROAHD) and online surveys (BESt-IC), we uncover patterns in women’s health that have long remained invisible. With the mission:
The mission of FemHealthDAta is: See her better, understand her better, care for her better - with data that reflects her reality.
Dr John F.B. Bolte is a lector in Smart Sensor Systems at The Hague University of Applied Sciences and at the Centre for Sustainability, Environment and Health at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, where he is project coordinator in the field of personal exposure and effect measurements using wearable sensors.
John studied Geophysics and Physics at Utrecht University, and graduated in 1995 from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) as a seismologist, with Oceanography and Geodynamics as his secondary specialisms. He obtained his PhD in Acoustic Imaging from the Faculty of Applied Physics at Delft University of Technology in 2003. He has been a registered epidemiologist since 2011, having completed the postgraduate master's programme at VU University Amsterdam.
At the RIVM, he spent 10 years leading multidisciplinary and international projects in the field of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and health.
In this context, he has carried out research and published work in three areas:
John Bolte has been Professor of Smart Sensor Systems at The Hague University of Applied Sciences since September 2016. His research areas are: Smart Health: measuring exposures and effects in humans, animals and plants; Smart Safety: occupational exposure and early warning systems; and Smart Acquisition and Control: Big Data Analytics, sensor fusion, semantic mapping and autonomous vehicles. The Urbinn LearningLab brings together multidisciplinary projects on sustainable, autonomous vehicles, ranging from smart wheelchairs to self-driving cars. The research group is also affiliated with the City Knowledge Centre of the ‘Good Governance for a Safe World' research platform. Prevention and prediction are the key focus areas of the research group.
Harald Merckelbach is a Writer and professor of psychology and has been working at Maastricht University since 1985.
Merckelbach is interested in the intersection between psychology and law. This includes topics such as eyewitness errors, recovered memories, the lie detector, and offenders who claim to suffer from memory loss. He is also interested in unusual experiences – including strange memory anomalies – which are classified as dissociative symptoms. He publishes articles on these topics in a variety of journals. From 2011 to 2020, he wrote a monthly column for NRC Handelsblad. He currently writes a column for De Limburger. Merckelbach is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences.
Anne-Marije Buckens is a labour market expert, AD columnist, speaker and theatre producer with a passion for the labour market, work, careers and the power of generations.
Whether on stage, in an inspiring talk or offering practical tips for the over-50s, her mission is to motivate people to get the best out of themselves and their careers. Anne-Marije believes in opportunities, regardless of age, and shows how new insights can help you look forward to your retirement with a bit of fun.
Nathanje Dijkstra began her PhD in the department of History and Art History at Utrecht University in September 2017, with funding from the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). She completed the Research Master's in History at the University of Amsterdam in 2015 and worked as junior researcher for dr. Willemijn Ruberg and as lecturer in the History and Language and Culture Studies Bachelor’s programme at Utrecht University.
As a cultural historian, I focus on the history of work and disability in the Netherlands in the twentieth century. I have recently defended my dissertation, which is funded by the NWO's PhD’s in the Humanities programme. The dissertation takes a fresh look at how incapacity for work was historically produced in encounters between government officials, medical experts and disabled workers in social security appeals in the Netherlands (1901-1967).
I am currently a lecturer in the History Bachelor's programme and the Cultural History and Heritage Master's programme, both at the Department of History and Art History at Utrecht University. I teach courses in the philosophy of history and the Humanities, disability history, research and writing skills, and I supervise MA theses and internships. In 2017, I obtained my BKO teaching qualification.
