Femke Lamers

Femke LAMERS is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Amsterdam UMC. Her research aim is to contribute to improved, personalised treatment for depression, through research on (treatment of) immuno-metabolic depression & application of ambulatory measurements.

The concept of immuno-metabolic depression started with Dr. Lamers’s 2010 publication on depression subtypes in Journal of Clinical Psyhiatry, and has lead to a solid line of research on this form of depression, that is characterised by atypical, energy-related symptoms and inflammation and metabolic dysregulation. In 2010, Dr. Lamers was awarded an NWO Rubicon fellowship to conduct research on depression subtypes at the National Institute of Mental Health, USA with Dr. K. Merikangas. In 2013 she returned to Amsterdam supported by a EU-FP7 Marie Curie Career Integration Grant where she continued her work on depression subtypes and immuno-metabolic depression (IMD). She is currently PI of the PERCIM project, evaluating personalised treatment options for IMD.

At the NIMH, Dr. Lamers also learned about ambulatory assessments, such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and actigraphy. Upon her return to Amsterdam, she contributed to the implementation of EMA and actigraphy in the Netherlands Study on Depression and Anxiety. She also coordinates the Dutch arm of the RADAR-CNS depression study, that employs ambulatory assessments, including EMA, passive smartphone apps and actigraphy to monitor depression in an effort to identify signals that could indicate a relapse.

Besides being passionate about research, Dr. Lamers has a keen interest in teaching and training. Her teaching aim is to bring training of young academics to the highest level, by creating an optimal training atmosphere and setting to conduct research according to the highest standards.