M.I. (Mirjam) Geerlings
M.I. (Mirjam) Geerlings

- Julius Center, dept. Epidemiology & Health Economics
- Julius Center Research Program Cardiovascular Epidemiology
Research Programs
Biography
Biography
I received my MSc degree in Neuropsychology and PhD degree in Epidemiology from the VU medical center Amsterdam, the Netherlands. From 2000 until 2002, I worked as a post-doc at the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics of the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam where I studied steroid hormones as risk factors for dementia using data from the Rotterdam Study. From 2002 until 2022, I worked at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care (University Medical Center Utrecht), first as Assistant Professor, and since 2006 as Associate Professor where I initiated, conducted, and supervised research within the department of Epidemiology. I also developed, coordinated and taught epidemiology courses within the Biomedical Sciences (BSc), Medicine (BSc and MSc), and MSc Epidemiology curriculum. I supervised around 40 MSc and BSc students during their research and completing their MSc or BSc thesis. Additionally, I mentored a substantial number of research assistants, PhD candidates, and postdoctoral fellows. I am a PI of the research programs Circulatory Health (research theme Cerebrovascular disease) and Brain within the UMC Utrecht.
Since May 2022, I am head of the section Research and member of the management team of the department of General Practice at Amsterdam UMC. Since January 2023, I am affiliated with the Julius Center (UMC Utrecht) as a guest researcher.
Within the UMC Utrecht, I lead the SMART-MR study, a sub-study of the UCC-SMART study. The SMART-MR study (SMART-MR study) is an ongoing prospective cohort study among 1309 non-demented, independently living middle-aged to older adults with manifest arterial disease, aimed to investigate determinants and consequences of brain changes on MRI, including depression and cognitive decline. Individuals were assessed at up to three visits: at baseline, 4 years, and 12 years follow-up. I am also PI of the Medea 7T study, a cohort study in the UMC Utrecht, aimed to investigate determinants and consequences of microstructural brain abnormalities on 7 tesla brain MRI. With the UCC-SMART study and SMART-MR study I participate in national and international consortia, including the Netherlands Consortium for Dementia Cohorts (NCDC), the Psychosocial factors and cancer incidence (PSY-CA) consortium, and the CHARGE consortium. Starting in 2023, I also participate in the BIRD-NL consortium.
Internationally, I have longstanding collaborations with the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, USA (dr. Lenore Launer) where I published using data from the Honolulu Asia Aging Study and the AGES-Reykjavik Study.
Research line
Epidemiology of cerebrovascular disease and brain health.
Publications
in PubMed:
Side Activities
Committees
Chair or vice-chair
2019 Chair of the Talma Eykman Master’s Thesis Awards committee (University Medical Center Utrecht).
2014–2017 Chair of the Veni ZonMw programme committee (Innovational Research Incentives Scheme) of The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
2013 Vice-chair of the Veni ZonMw programme committee (Innovational Research Incentives Scheme) of The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
Member
2023 Member of the Vidi ZonMw programme committee (Innovational Research Incentives Scheme) of The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
2021-2022 Member of the ZonMw Off Road committee.
2021-2022 Substitute methodological member of the Institutional Review Board (Independent Ethics Committee) of the University Medical Center Utrecht.
2018 Member of the Talma Eykman Master’s Thesis Awards committee (University Medical Center Utrecht).
2017-2021 Member of the Alzheimer Nederland fellowship grant programme committee.
2016-2022 Member of the examiner board of the curriculum Medicine (Examencommissie Geneeskunde) (University Medical Center Utrecht).
2014 Member of the Earth and Life Sciences Open Programme committee (ALW-Open programma) of The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
2011 Member of the Veni ZonMw programme committee (Innovational Research Incentives Scheme) of The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
2011-2017 Substitute methodological member of the Institutional Review Board (Independent Ethics Committee) of the University Medical Center Utrecht.
2007-2011 Methodological member of the Institutional Review Board (Independent Ethics Committee) of the University Medical Center Utrecht.
Society memberships
2016-present Member of the sounding board of the Dutch Network of Women Professors (klankbordgroep UHD Landelijk Netwerk Vrouwelijke Hoogleraren)
2012-present Dutch Network of Women Professors (Landelijk Netwerk Vrouwelijke Hoogleraren)
2009-present International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research and Treatment (ISTAART)
2007-present International Society for Vascular, Cognitive and Behavioural Disorders (VasCog)
Research Output (244)
Twait Emma L, Min Britt, Beran Magdalena, Vonk Jet M J, Geerlings Mirjam I Jul 2023, In: Ageing Research Reviews. 88
Lucci Carlo, Rissanen Ina, de Jong Pim A, Kappelle L Jaap, Hendrikse Jeroen, Geerlings Mirjam I Jun 2023, In: European Stroke Journal. 8 , p. 522-531 10 p.
Koevoets E W, Geerlings M I, Monninkhof E M, Mandl R, Witlox L, van der Wall E, Stuiver M M, Sonke G S, Velthuis M J, Jobsen J J, van der Palen J, Bos M E M M, Göker E, Menke-Pluijmers M B E, Sommeijer D W, May A M, de Ruiter M B, Schagen S B, 14 Dec 2022, In: NeuroImage. Clinical. 37 , p. 1-12
Twait Emma L, Basten Maartje, Gerritsen Lotte, Gudnason Vilmundur, Launer Lenore J, Geerlings Mirjam I 17 Nov 2022, In: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 148
Mishra Aniket, Malik Rainer, Hachiya Tsuyoshi, Jürgenson Tuuli, Namba Shinichi, Posner Daniel C., Kamanu Frederick K., Koido Masaru, Le Grand Quentin, Shi Mingyang, He Yunye, Georgakis Marios K., Caro Ilana, Krebs Kristi, Liaw Yi Ching, Vaura Felix C., Lin Kuang, Winsvold Bendik Slagsvold, Srinivasasainagendra Vinodh, Parodi Livia, Bae Hee Joon, Chauhan Ganesh, Chong Michael R., Tomppo Liisa, Akinyemi Rufus, Roshchupkin Gennady V., Habib Naomi, Jee Yon Ho, Thomassen Jesper Qvist, Abedi Vida, Cárcel-Márquez Jara, Nygaard Marianne, Leonard Hampton L., Yang Chaojie, Yonova-Doing Ekaterina, Knol Maria J., Lewis Adam J., Judy Renae L., Ago Tetsuro, Amouyel Philippe, Armstrong Nicole D., Bakker Mark K., Bartz Traci M., Bennett David A., Geerlings Mirjam I., Onland-Moret N. Charlotte, Peters Annette, van Vugt Marion, Rissanen Ina L., Ruigrok Ynte M., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 14 Nov 2022, In: Nature. 612 , p. E7
Mishra Aniket, Malik Rainer, Hachiya Tsuyoshi, Jürgenson Tuuli, Namba Shinichi, Posner Daniel C, Kamanu Frederick K, Koido Masaru, Le Grand Quentin, Shi Mingyang, He Yunye, Georgakis Marios K, Caro Ilana, Krebs Kristi, Liaw Yi-Ching, Vaura Felix C, Lin Kuang, Winsvold Bendik Slagsvold, Srinivasasainagendra Vinodh, Parodi Livia, Bae Hee-Joon, Chauhan Ganesh, Chong Michael R, Tomppo Liisa, Akinyemi Rufus, Roshchupkin Gennady V, Habib Naomi, Jee Yon Ho, Thomassen Jesper Qvist, Abedi Vida, Cárcel-Márquez Jara, Nygaard Marianne, Leonard Hampton L, Yang Chaojie, Yonova-Doing Ekaterina, Knol Maria J, Lewis Adam J, Judy Renae L, Ago Tetsuro, Amouyel Philippe, Armstrong Nicole D, Bakker Mark K, Bartz Traci M, Bennett David A, Bis Joshua C, Geerlings Mirjam I, Onland-Moret N Charlotte, van Vugt Marion, Rissanen Ina L, Ruigrok Ynte M, 3 Nov 2022, In: Nature. 611 , p. 115-123 9 p.
Ghaznawi Rashid, Vonk Jet Mj, Zwartbol Maarten Ht, Bresser Jeroen de, Rissanen Ina, Hendrikse Jeroen, Geerlings Mirjam I, 16 Oct 2022, In: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. 43 , p. 309-318 10 p.
Ghaznawi Rashid, Rissanen Ina, de Bresser Jeroen, Kuijf Hugo J, Zuithoff Nicolaas P A, Hendrikse Jeroen, Geerlings Mirjam I, 12 Sep 2022, In: Cerebrovascular diseases (Basel, Switzerland). 52 , p. 226-233 8 p.
Zwartbol Maarten H T, Ghaznawi Rashid, Jaarsma-Coes Myriam, Kuijf Hugo, Hendrikse Jeroen, de Bresser Jeroen, Geerlings Mirjam I, 23 Aug 2022, In: Neurobiology of Aging. 120 , p. 81-87 7 p.
Koevoets E W, Schagen S B, de Ruiter M B, Geerlings M I, Witlox L, van der Wall E, Stuiver M M, Sonke G S, Velthuis M J, Jobsen J J, Menke-Pluijmers M B E, Göker E, van der Pol C C, Bos M E M M, Tick L W, van Holsteijn N A, van der Palen J, May A M, Monninkhof E M, 26 May 2022, In: Breast Cancer Research. 24