General
Join neuroscience researchers on October 2nd as they explain how sex differences and hormones shape psychiatric and neurological disorders, from optimizing psychosis care in women to unravelling patterns in frontotemporal dementia or depression.
Program
| 15:00 - 15:10 | Walk-in |
| 15:10 - 15:15 | Word of Welcome by TN2 organization |
| 15:15 - 15:50 | Keynote lecture by Prof. Iris Sommer - From early detection to hormonal care: Optimizing treatment for women with psychosis |
| 15:50 - 16:10 | Presentation by Dr. Sterre de Boer - Sex differences in frontotemporal dementia: Unraveling genetic and sporadic patterns |
| 16:10 - 16:30 | Presentation by Dr. Margot Morssinkhof - Sex, gender and hormones: Depression risk across the lifespan |
| 16:30 - 16:55 | Panel discussion with all speakers |
| 16:55 - 17:05 | Wrap up by TN2 organization |
| 17:05 | Network and drinks |
Speakers
Iris Sommer is a psychiatrist and Professor at the Department of Neuroscience University Medical Center Groningen. Her areas of focus are psychosis, schizophrenia, treatment of women in psychiatry. Women with a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (SSD) have a better clinical profile than do men at the start of their illness but progress to the same state within the first few years of living with SSD. There are benefits to be gained across different areas in the care currently offered to women with psychosis. An important point for improvement is the early detection of female-specific signs of a first episode of psychosis, to shorten the duration of untreated psychosis, with prompt access to early intervention services. Special attention should be paid to sexual health, and to any history of childhood trauma. Antipsychotics require dosing and prescription tailored to the female physiology that considers hormonal life phases such as menopause. Switching to prolactin-sparing medications can benefit both mental and somatic health. Finally, hormone replacement therapy should be considered for postmenopausal women. By providing female-specific care, women with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders will have optimal chances to fare well.
Sterre de Boer
Sterre de Boer is a medical doctor and postdoctoral researcher at the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, where she also obtained her PhD in 2024. During her clinical rotation in the psychiatric department, Sterre became intrigued by the symptomatic and diagnostic complexity of frontotemperal dementia (FTD). She will discuss two of her publications on gender differences in frontotemporal dementia, which were published in 2021 and 2025.
Margot Morssinkhof
Margot Morssinkhof is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Medical Psychology at the Amsterdam UMC. Previously, as a PhD student, she was embedded in the Department of Psychiatry at the OLVG and the Departments of Psychiatry and Endocrinology of the Amsterdam UMC. Her research focuses on the associations between sex hormones and well-being, with a focus on clinical contexts and medication, including gender-affirming hormones, hormonal contraceptives and the menstrual cycle. Her broader research interest is in the role of sex hormone changes in mental well-being, and in sex- and gender sensitive research in neuroscience and psychiatry. She will present on the role of gender and sex hormones (menstruation, menopause, hormonal contraceptives) on depression.
Date and Location
Building: Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam
Costs and registration
This event is free to attend.
Registration is open, use this form to register for the event.
Please register only if you’re able to attend the symposium in person.