Niels T. de Joode

Passionate about disentangling and understanding the complexities of the human brain, with a focus on Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, sleep, and hypersomnolence. I have developed expertise in multimodal neuroimaging, including acquisition at both 3T and 7T MRI field strengths with a focus on static and functional spectroscopy, structural/functional neuroimaging, EEG, and fNIRS, as well as the development of advanced analysis pipelines. My work within global imaging consortia on OCD and hypersomnolence has strengthened my collaborative and leadership skills in large-scale data harmonization and analysis.

• 2024-present: Supervision of M.Sc., B.Sc., and PhD students (theses and practical work), Sleep Cognition and Neuroimaging (SCN) Lab, Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, and Multimodal Functional Imaging Lab (Multi FunkIm), Physics Department
• 2018-present: Supervision of masters and bachelors students (N=16) (theses and practical work) from various degree programmes at the Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, VU medical center
• 2019: Yearly lecture on ‘CBT for OCD’ for the Hot Topics in Neuroscience course as part of the BSc in medicine, VU medical center
• 2018-2020: Committee member of the PhD Association of the Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences at the VU medical center (PANDA)– organized and hosted various educational and social events for junior members of the Department.

As part of the Graduate School for Neurosciences of Amsterdam and Rotterdam:

• May 2022 - Grant Writing
• November 2021 - Current issues in Neurodevelopment
• December 2020 - Statistics in Neuroscience (in R)
• September 2019 - Neuropsychopharmacology
• October 2019 - Cognitive Neurosciences
• October 2018 - Scientific Integrity course
• March 2018 - Functional Neuroanatomy

2024/9 Sleep Europe sustainable travel grant (ESRS 2024) - 500 (Euro) European sleep research society

2024/9 Concordia University Conference and Exposition Allowance - 1,000 (Canadian dollar) Concordia University

2025/05 — Sleep Network Scholarship and Fellowship Supplement, CAD $5,000; Réseau Sommeil Québec

Awarded for academic excellence in the field of sleep research

Journal Articles (first author)

1. De Joode, N. T., Gool, J., van Heese, E., Fronczek, R., Lammers, G.J., Grova, C., van der Werf, Y., & Dang-Vu, T. T. (in preparation). Investigating GABA and Glx in central hypersomnolence disorders: A multicenter harmonized spectroscopy study. (in prep.)

2. de Joode, N. T., Vriend, C., Pouwels, P. J. W., Liu, F., Otaduy, M. C. G., Pastorello, B., Robertson, F. C., Ipser, J., Lee, S., van Balkom, A. J. L. M., Hezel, D. M., Batistuzzo, M. C., Hoexter, M. Q., Sheshachala, K., Narayanaswamy, J. C., Venkatasubramanian, G., Lochner, C., Miguel, E. C., Reddy YC, J., … van den Heuvel, O. A. (2025). Cortical and subcortical structural alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder: relationships between morphology and clinical profiles in the Global OCD study. In medRxiv (p. 2025.07.23.25332068). https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.23.25332068

3. de Joode, N. T., van den Heuvel, O. A., Koster, M., Clarke, W. T., van Balkom, A. J. L. M., Schrantee, A., & Vriend, C. (2024). Glutamate dynamics and BOLD response during OCD symptom provocation in the lateral occipital cortex: A 7 Tesla fMRI-fMRS study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 367, 416–425

4. de Joode, N. T., Thorsen, A. L., Vriend, C., Pouwels, P. J. W., van Balkom, A. J. L. M., Hagen, K., Ousdal, O. T., Hansen, B., Kvale, G., & van den Heuvel, O. A. (2023). Linking resting state metabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex to response inhibition in OCD, a combined fMRI-MRS study. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 14, 100641.

5. De Joode NT, Thorsen AL, Vester EL, Vriend C, Pouwels PJW, Hagen K, Ousdal OT, Hansen B, Kvale G, van den Heuvel OA. (2021). Longitudinal changes in neurometabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortexafter concentrated exposure therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders. 299: 344-352.

6. De Joode, N.T.*, Vester, E. L.*, Vriend, C, Pouwels, P. J. W., van den Heuvel, O. A. (2020). Little evidence for neurometabolite alterations inobsessive-compulsive disorder - A systematic review of magnetic

Resonance spectroscopy studies at 3 Tesla. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. 25

Journal Articles (co-author)

1. Thorsen, A. L., de Joode, N. T., Pouwels, P. J. W., Dietz, C. N., Liu, F., Otaduy, M. C. G., Pastorello, B., Robertson, F. C., Ipser, J., Lee, S., Hezel, D. M., Batistuzzo, M. C., Hoexter, M. Q., Echevarria, M. A. N., Sheshachala, K., Narayanaswamy, J. C., Venkatasubramanian, G., Lochner, C., Miguel, E. C., … Vriend, C. (2025). Resting-state functional connectivity alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder: relationships between connectivity and clinical profiles in the Global OCD study. In medRxiv (p. 2025.07.30.25332428). https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.30.25332428

2. Lempert, K. M., Huber, B., Batistuzzo, M. C., Sheshachala, K., Hezel, D. M., de Joode, N. T., Marincowitz, C., Lochner, C., Stein, D. J., Narayanaswamy, J. C., van den Heuvel, O. A., Wall, M., & Simpson, H. B. (2025). Delay discounting and risk tolerance in obsessive compulsive disorder: Results from the Global OCD study. Clinical Psychological Science, 13(3), 542–557.

3. Brecke, V., Thorsen, A. L., Huyser, C., de Joode, N. T., Hansen, B., Hagen, K., Kvale, G., Vriend, C., van den Heuvel, O. A., & Ousdal, O. T. (2025). Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 20(100872), 100872.

4. Dzinalija, N., Vriend, C., Waller, L., Simpson, H. B., Ivanov, I., Agarwal, S. M., Alonso, P., Backhausen, L. L., Balachander, S., Broekhuizen, A., Castelo-Branco, M., Costa, A. D., Cui, H., Denys, D., Duarte, I. C., Eng, G. K., Erk, S., Fitzsimmons, S. M. D. D., Ipser, J., … van den Heuvel, O. A. (2024). Negative valence in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A worldwide mega-analysis of task-based functional neuroimaging data of the ENIGMA-OCD consortium. Biological Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.12.011

5. Chris Vriend, Niels T. de Joode, Petra J.W. Pouwels, Feng Liu, Maria C.G. Otaduy, Bruno Pastorello, Frances C. Robertson, Jonathan Ipser, Seonjoo Lee, Dianne M. Hezel, Page E. van Meter, Marcelo

C. Batistuzzo, Marcelo Q. Hoexter, Karthik Sheshachala, Janardhanan C. Narayanaswamy, Ganesan Venkatasubramanian, Christine Lochner, Euripedes C. Miguel, Y.C. Janardhan Reddy, Roseli G. Shavitt, Dan J. Stein, Melanie Wall, Helen Blair Simpson*, Odile A. van den Heuvel*. Onset of obsessive- compulsive disorder differentially affects white matter microstructure. Molecular Psychiatry. 29: 033–1045 (2024).

6. Marcelo C. Batistuzzo; Himani Kashyap; Niels T. de Joode; Chris Vriend; Benjamin Huber; Daniel M. Alschuler; Dianne M. Hezel; Deise Palermo Ruiz; Karthik Seshachala; Janardhanan C. Narayanaswamy; Clara Marincowitz; Christine Lochner; Dan J. Stein; Odile A. van den Heuvel; Helen Blair Simpson; Melanie Wall; Roseli G. Shavitt. (2024). Planning and visuospatial working memory in patients with obsessive- compulsive disorder: a global study (in preparation). Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

7. Batistuzzo MC, Sheshachala K, Alschuler DM, Hezel DM, Lewis-Fernández R, de Joode NT, Vriend C, Lempert KM, Narayan M, Marincowitz C, Lochner C, Stein DJ, Narayanaswamy JC, van den Heuvel OA, Simpson HB, Wall M. (2023). Cross-national harmonization of neurocognitive assessment across five sites in a global study. Neuropsychology.Neuropsychology. 37(3): 284-300.

8. Pouwels PJW, Vriend C, Liu F, de Joode NT, Otaduy MCG, Pastorello B, Robertson FC, Venkatasubramanian G, Ipser J, Lee S, Batistuzzo MC, Hoexter MQ, Lochner C, Miguel EC, Narayanaswamy JC, Rao R, Janardhan Reddy YC, Shavitt RG, Sheshachala K, Stein DJ, van Balkom AJLM, Wall M, Simpson HB, van den Heuvel OA. (2023). Global multi-center and multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging study of obsessive-compulsive disorder:Harmonization and monitoring of protocols in healthy volunteers and phantoms. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research. 32(1)

9. Shavitt, R. G., Sheshachala, K., Hezel, D. M., Wall, M. M., Balachander, S., Lochner, C.,Narayanaswamy,

J. C., Costa, D. L. C., de Mathis, M. A., van Balkom, A. J. L. M., de Joode, N. T., Narayan, M., van den Heuvel, O. A., Stein, D. J., Miguel, E. C., Simpson, H. B., & Reddy, Y. C. J. (2022). Measurement fidelity of clinical assessment methods in a global study on identifying reproducible brain signatures of obsessive- compulsive disorder. Neuropsychology. 37(3): 330-343.

10. ENIGMA OCD working Group. (2022). The thalamus and its subnuclei—a gateway to obsessive- compulsive disorder. Translational Psychiatry. 12

11. Simpson HB, van den Heuvel OA, Miguel EC, Reddy YCJ, Stein DJ, Lewis-Fernández R, Shavitt RG, Lochner C, Pouwels PJW, Narayanawamy JC, Venkatasubramanian G, Hezel DM, Vriend C, Batistuzzo MC, Hoexter MQ, de Joode NT, Costa DL, de Mathis MA, Sheshachala K, Narayan M, van Balkom AJLM, Batelaan NM, Venkataram S, Cherian A, Marincowitz C, Pannekoek N, Stovezky YR, Mare K, Liu F, Otaduy MCG, Pastorello B, Rao R, Katechis M, Van Meter P, Wall M. (2020). Toward identifying reproducible brain signatures of obsessive-compulsive profiles: rationale and methodsfor a new global initiative.BMC Psychiatry. (20)

12. Luigjes, J, Segrave, R, de Joode, NT, Figee, M, Denys, D. (2019). Efficacy of Invasive and Non-Invasive Brain ModulationInterventions for Addiction. Neuropsychology Review. (29): 116-118.

Book Chapters

1. Batistuzzo, M., M. Otaduy, M. Hoexter, and N. T. de Joode. (2024). Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and 1H-MRS: A Focus on Brain Glutamate and Gamma Aminobutyric Acid. Handbook of the Biology and Pathology of Mental Disorders. (2024)

2. Niels de Joode, Ilse Verveer, Judy Luigjes, Ingmar Francken. (2019). Neuromodulatie (Neuromodulation). Handboek verslaving (Addiction Handbook). (2)

Thesis/Dissertation

A View Through the Neural Panes: A Multimodal Journey into OCD Structural, Neurometabolic, and Functional Insights. Free University, Amsterdam - Vrije Universiteit (A View Through the Neural Panes: A Multimodal Journey into OCD: Structural, Neurometabolic, and Functional Insights - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

1. (2025). Investigating GABA and Glx in Central Hypersomnolence Disorders: A Multicenter Harmonized Spectroscopy Study. Sleep World Conference, Singapore.

2. (2025). Cortical and subcortical structural alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder: relationships between morphology and clinical profiles in the Global OCD. Society of Biological Psychiatry, Toronto, Canada

3. (2024). Brain morphology in central disorders of hypersomnolence: First results from the global multi-site neuroimaging consortium NICHY. Annual European Sleep Research Society (27th edition), Sevilla, Spain

4. (2023). The effect of OCD-symptom provocation on Glutamate in the lateral occipital cortex and its relation to the BOLD response. Society of Biological Psychiatry, San Diego, United States of America

5. (2022). Linking resting-state metabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex to response inhibition in OCD - a combined fMRI-MRS study. Society of Biological Psychiatry, New Orleans, United States of America

6. (2022). The effect of OCD-symptom provocation on Glutamate in the lateral occipital cortex and its relation to the BOLD response. Annual Meeting Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands

7. (2022). Linking resting-state metabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex to response inhibition in OCD - a combined fMRI-MRS study. The Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Glasgow, United Kingdom

8. (2022). Linking resting-state metabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex to response inhibition in OCD - a combined fMRI-MRS study. Annual Meeting Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands

9. (2021). Longitudinal changes in neurometabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex after concentrated exposure therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Society of Biological Psychiatry - Virtual event, United States of America

10. (2019). Longitudinal changes in neurometabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex after concentrated exposure therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Annual Meeting Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands

11. (2019). Functional Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Response Inhibition - methods (poster). International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (Benelux), leiden, Netherlands

12. (2019). Functional Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Response Inhibition (power pitch). International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (Benelux), Leiden, Netherlands