Pien van der Velde is a PhD-candidate in the study 'Context matters: Optimising tapering strategies of TNF inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis with advanced placebo-based designs'.

More information about Pien van der Velde

Pien van der Velde is a PhD-candidate in the study 'Context matters: Optimising tapering strategies of TNF inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis with advanced placebo-based designs'.

Research

The study 'Context matters: Optimising tapering strategies of TNF inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis with advanced placebo-based designs' is a multicenter research on optimising the tapering of biologicals (TNF inhibitors) by using advanced placebo techniques. Three contextual factors in the treatment process are investigated: health care providers, patients and the medication scheme. Van der Velde focuses on patients and the medication scheme. She investigates the effectivity of an expectation training aimed at minimalising nocebo effects (e.g. catastrophic thoughts) and learning realistic expectations about the tapering of biologicals. She also investigates the effectivity of an adjusted medication scheme with pharmacological condition. What appeals her in this research is capatilising the interaction between mental and physical processes when improving the treatment of autoimmune diseases.  

Short CV

Van der Velde graduated from Erasmus University College in Rotterdam with a double major in the biological aspects of public health and psychology (summa cum laude). After this she followed a pre-master in psychology at Leiden University. In 2023, she graduated from the master Brain and Cognition at Erasmus University Rotterdam (cum laude) and the master Health and medical Psychology at Leiden University (cum laude). From January until June 2023, as part of her internship, she taught about medical communication to LUMC Medicine students in their first, second and third year and to students doing their clinical internships. 

Since August 2023 she was a research assistant in the project 'Picture this! Exploring the effects of clinicians’ helpful and harmful communication behaviours on patients’ brain activity and brain connectivity' by Liesbeth van Vliet and Julie Hall. this is a pilot project that investigates the neurobiological basis of clinician-patient communication. In 2024 she started her PhD-track.