Stress is a major social problem. Too much stress can be pathogenic, especially long-term stress. But what is stressful and when stress becomes truly problematic varies from person to person. Detecting stress and promoting resilience are central to Erno Hermans' research. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop new treatments and prevention in the field of stress-related diseases. The use of smartphone-linked wearable measuring devices (wearables) so that people can (in the future) monitor their mental health themselves plays an important role in this.
A delighted Erno Hermans; ‘The Radboud Science Award is nice recognition for the work of our whole group, I would like to thank them for that. I look forward to inviting classes next year to enthuse them about our research.' Hermans invited a number of classes to drop by the Donders Institute at Radboud University. There, students will be given a demonstration of a brain scan. Using an MRI scanner, stress in the brain is visualised live. Students will also investigate stress reactions themselves. Among other things, they will use the aforementioned wearables to measure physical stress responses such as heart rate and skin conductance (the extent to which the skin can conduct electricity through sweating).
Radboud Science Awards
The Radboud Science Awards are presented annually to researchers at Radboud University and Radboudumc for their significant contribution to science. The research directors of the Radboud University institutes nominate candidates who have recently made a significant scientific contribution to their field. From these, a jury selects three award winners. The jury consists of seven prominent scientists from different fields of science, at different stages of their careers. The jury is chaired by the rector magnificus of Radboud University.
You are cordially invited on Thursday 21 November 2024 (start 10.00h) in the Aula of Radboud University to attend the festive award ceremony. During this ceremony, the winners will tell about their research to an audience of primary school pupils, who will question them extensively. You can also follow the event online via the livestream from the Academy Hall (Aula). More information can be found at www.wkru.nl or at infowkru [at] ru.nl.