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Laura Schaap is an Associate Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Department of Health Sciences, specializing in epidemiology with a focus on healthy aging. Her research notably addresses sex and gender differences and how physical and social environments influence health outcomes in older adults. She teaches a course titled 'Geriatrics and Aging' to bachelor students, emphasizing the interconnectedness of physical, cognitive, psychological, and social domains in maintaining and improving the well-being of older adults. Laura's PhD research from 2004 to 2010 centered on inflammation and sex hormone levels as determinants of sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. She has also collaborated internationally on projects focusing on the causes and consequences of osteoarthritis, significantly contributing to the European study EPOSA. As a postdoctoral researcher, Laura coordinated large-scale studies and focused on the outdoor physical environment's impact on older persons with osteoarthritis. Her ongoing research initiatives include understanding predictors of health outcomes related to physical activity trajectories in community-dwelling older adults. Laura is dedicated to advancing the field of aging research and has been actively involved in standardizing measures of sarcopenia for clinical practice.
Administered under the Department of Clinical Psychology for Master's in Clinical and Developmental Psychopathology.