Biography

I have a background in Epidemiology (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and Psychiatry (Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London). My research has focused on elucidating the nature of mental variation in relation to context, and identifying the interactions between environment and genetic liability driving this variation. Over the course of my career, I have developed a passion for making psychiatry more relevant for its users in terms of diagnostic practice, the use of scientific findings to create clinical impact, health service organization, teaching and co-creation with users. I think there is an urgent need to balance the discourse and the scientific focus of the psychiatric profession on the one hand, and the needs and wishes of patients and their relatives on the other. In my work as Neuroscience Division leader at MUMC and now UMCU, I have attempted to forge collaboration between the clinical neurosciences in order to create patient value, for example in the area of neuromodulation. After several decades of directing activities in health care and research, I think effective leadership is about facilitating others, creating a community and fostering the network – in the shared belief that our work serves to inspire students and impact the lives of patients.

Education

Basic Teaching Qualification, BROK certified

Ten most important scientific publications

• Van Os, J., Hanssen, M., Bijl, R.V. & Vollebergh, W. (2001) Prevalence of psychotic disorder and community level of psychotic symptoms: an urban-rural comparison. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58, 663-668.

• Van Os, J., Hanssen, M., Bak, M., et al (2003) Do urbanicity and familial liability coparticipate in causing psychosis? American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 477-482.
• Van Os, J., Altamura, A.C., Bobes, J. et al (2004) Evaluation of the Two-Way Communication Checklist as a clinical intervention. Results of a multinational, randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Psychiatry, 184, 79-83.
• van Os, J. & Kapur, S. (2009) Schizophrenia. Lancet, 374, 635-645.
• van Os, J., Kenis, G. & Rutten, B.P. (2010) The environment and schizophrenia. Nature, 468, 203-212.
• van Os, J. & Reininghaus, U. (2016) Psychosis as a transdiagnostic and extended phenotype in the general population. World Psychiatry, 15, 118-124.
• Van Os J, Marsman A, Van Dam D, Simons CJ, GROUP Investigators (2017). Evidence That the Impact of Childhood Trauma on IQ Is Substantial in Controls, Moderate in Siblings, and Absent in Patients With Psychotic Disorder. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 43(2), 316-324.
• Van Os J, Van Der Steen Y, Islam MA, Guloksuz S, Rutten BP, Simons CJ, GROUP Investigators (2017). Evidence that polygenic risk for psychotic disorder is expressed in the domain of neurodevelopment, emotion regulation and attribution of salience. Psychological Medicine, 47(14), 2421-2437.
• Van Os, J. & Güloksuz, S. (2017). A critique of the popular “ultra-high risk” and “transition” paradigm in psychiatry. World Psychiatry,16, 200-206
• Van Os, J., Verhagen, S., Marsman, et al. (2017) The Experience Sampling Method as an mHealth Tool to Support Self-monitoring, Self-Insight and Personalised Health Care in Clinical Practice. Depression and Anxiety, 34(6), 481-493.