Behavioural scientist Janna Vrijsen has been appointed Professor of Mental Fitness at Radboud university medical center / Radboud University. She also works as senior researcher at Pro Persona. Her aim is to help people with depression become mentally fit during treatment and maintain this afterwards. An important part of that process is exercise and physical activity.
During her PhD research, Janna Vrijsen met many people living with depression. That experience strengthened her conviction that this condition deserves more attention. She began studying negative thinking patterns in depression. During a research visit at the University of Texas at Austin, she saw the potential of incorporating exercise into treatment. ‘We know from research that exercise therapy is at least as effective as psychotherapy and antidepressants, but how can we best help people become and continue being active?’, she says. With an NWO VIDI grant, she launched the Work-It-Out project, which examines the combination of exercise therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Understanding how an exercise plan works
Within Work-It-Out, she and her team examine different types of physical activity, such as running, spinning, and boxing. They study how exercise strengthens cognitive behavioural therapy and for whom it works best. Because the existing guideline of 150 minutes of exercise per week can feel overwhelming for many people with depression, they search for achievable, personalized approaches. ‘Maybe listening to a podcast while walking helps or perhaps exercising together with a friend is more fun’, Vrijsen says. Her research helps people with depression take control of their own mental fitness.
In addition to exploring practical exercise options, the Work-It-Out project also investigates the role of neuroplasticity. This is the brain’s ability to form new connections. Exercise increases certain markers in the blood and brain that stimulate plasticity, leading to improved learning ability. Because of this, the expectation is that cognitive behavioural therapy is more effective when combined with exercise. The project measures how participants’ mood and thinking patterns change and when these changes occur. This provides insight into how, when and why the combination of exercise and psychotherapy works.
Extensive expertise from theory to practice
Vrijsen is also affiliated with the Donders Institute and the Behavioural Science Institute, where her research sheds light on the mechanisms of exercise, including biomarkers and thinking patterns. Radboudumc offers an innovative environment for testing new ideas. Her co-appointment at Pro Persona ensures that research findings can be directly applied in clinical practice. ‘I think it is very important that new insights actually impact on care’, Vrijsen says.
Career
Janna Vrijsen studied psychology at Radboud University and went on to complete a master’s degree in behavioural science. She obtained her PhD at Radboudumc in 2014 with her dissertation titled Biased information processing as an endophenotype for depression. Over the course of her career, she gained international research experience at Stanford University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Texas at Austin.
After completing her PhD, she held several roles at Radboudumc and the Donders Institute. Since 2017, she also works as a researcher at Pro Persona’s Depression Expertise Center. Last year, she was appointed endowed Professor of Transdiagnostic Psychopathology at Radboud University. Her appointment as full professor at Radboudumc begins on 1 April 2026 for five-year period.
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