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Dr Elsje van Bergen

@drelsje.bsky.social
846 followers 429 following 185 posts

A/Prof Psychology @ VU Amsterdam; Visiting Prof @ Oslo. Educational Genetics | Neurodiversity | Intergenerational Transmission 🧬📖➗👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 #ERC-StG #VIDI 🤸acrobat scholar.google.com/citations?user=X…

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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen
Herman van de Werfhorst 🟥 @hermwerf.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The #PISA decline since 2015 is striking. The Netherlands shows one of the largest negative trends. www.oecd.org/content/dam/...
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
ADHD, dyslexie en dyscalculie delen deels dezelfde genetische aanleg 🧬 Ze komen daardoor vaker samen voor, zonder dat het één het ander lijkt te veroorzaken. Mooi uitgelegd in Balans. 📰 balansdigitaal.nl/de-aanleg-vo... ➕ balansdigitaal.nl/extra-inform... 📄 journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
ADHD, dyslexie en dyscalculie delen deels dezelfde genetische aanleg 🧬 Ze komen daardoor vaker samen voor, zonder dat het één het ander lijkt te veroorzaken. Mooi uitgelegd in Balans. 📰 balansdigitaal.nl/de-aanleg-vo... ➕ balansdigitaal.nl/extra-inform... 📄 journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Lovely to be spending this week in Sweden at Karolinska Institutet. Here with Sven Bölte after today’s seminar at KIND. nyheter.ki.se/kalender/var... Advertised in Swedish, although unfortunately I wasn’t able to give the talk in Swedish 😉 In #Stockholm this week and fancy a coffee? ☕️LMK! @ki.se
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Why should developmental scientists care about genetics? Genes and environments are intertwined. Accounting for genetic influences helps us estimate environmental effects more accurately and identify better intervention targets Alexandra Starr about our new work at #SSSR2026 osf.io/preprints/ps...
Alexandra Starr presenting at SSSR 2026, Society for the Scientific Study of Reading. Her slide asks, “Why care about genetics in developmental research?” and explains that genes and environments are intertwined, that children partly resemble their parents because of shared genes, and that children also shape experiences that fit their characteristics. The slide concludes that accounting for genetic effects can improve estimates of environmental influences and help identify better intervention targets.
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I spoke about how family-based and genetically-informed designs can help us think more clearly about reading development, genes, environments, and causality. Extra special: my parents, husband, and our children were there. Child review: “Mama, it was sooooo boring.” Grounded again.
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Grateful and happy to have given the Mid-Career Award Lecture at the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading #SSSR2026: “Why reading difficulties run in families.” Such an honour to present in the plenary slot of the society that has been my scientific home since my PhD.
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Abdel Abdellaoui @dr-appie.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
How do nature, nurture, and their interplay drive inequality? 🧬🧠💰 New PhD position in social science genetics at @amsterdamumc.bsky.social and @vuamsterdam.bsky.social. Your supervisors will be: Titus Galama, Aysu Okbay, and me. Apply by 21 July: workingat.vu.nl/vacancies/ph... Please share!
workingat.vu.nl
Vacancy — PhD position in Social Science Genetics – VU Amsterdam & Amsterdam UMC
Applications are invited for a PhD position in Social Science Genetics, a joint appointment at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC. Eligible candidates may start their studentship between J...
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Looking forward to #SSSR2026! Alexandra Starr, @madeliefkuijper.bsky.social, @josefina-bernardo.bsky.social, Britt Min and I present work on literacy/numeracy genetics, ADHD–reading links, intergenerational transmission, and online assessment. I’ll also give the Mid-Career Award plenary on Friday.
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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen
Emily Harriott @emilymharriott.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
headed to SSSR 2026 ?! curious as to the role of the corticospinal tract in reading ?! love brain pictures and raincloud plots ?! do i have the poster for you !! 🤓🤓 come hang - poster #32 on SATURDAY !! #SSSR2026 🤓🧠📚
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Why do educational outcomes run in families—and what does that mean for social inequality in education? Thursday #ORD2026: adoption, extended-family & population-genetics studies, with Marjolijn Das, me, @dr-appie.bsky.social, Louise Elffers & Hans Luyten 🕝14:30 |📍0.055 #OnderwijsResearchDagen
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Tomorrow morning at the @behaviorgenetic.bsky.social conference: Intergenerational Transmission of Education and ADHD 🕥 Wednesday 24 June, 10:45–12:00 📍 Erasmus 1 Looking forward to bringing the findings and methods together! #BGA2026 #DevelopmentalScience #BehaviourGenetics #WomenInScience
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
📢 We’re hiring 2 part-time student assistants to join my lab at VU Amsterdam, working with Bruno Sauce & me The roles combine research in primary schools with new experimental research on AI and learning in uni students. Dutch + English required. Apply by 3 July werkenbij.vu.nl/vacatures/st...
werkenbij.vu.nl
Vacature — Student-assistent Onderzoek naar leren en AI in het onderwijs
Ben je student en heb je al ervaring met dataverzameling en het testen en begeleiden van kinderen? Dan hebben we een geweldige baan voor je!
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Lovely to catch up with Maggie Snowling and @deevybee.bsky.social Dorothy Bishop at @stjohnsox.bsky.social Oxford. Two scientists who have shaped so much of our field, and who remain wonderfully generous colleagues. ✨ Lucky me. #DevLangDis #Dyslexia #OpenScience #DevelopmentalScience
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
📢 We’re hiring 2 part-time student assistants to join my lab at VU Amsterdam, working with Bruno Sauce & me The roles combine research in primary schools with new experimental research on AI and learning in uni students. Dutch + English required. Apply by 3 July werkenbij.vu.nl/vacatures/st...
werkenbij.vu.nl
Vacature — Student-assistent Onderzoek naar leren en AI in het onderwijs
Ben je student en heb je al ervaring met dataverzameling en het testen en begeleiden van kinderen? Dan hebben we een geweldige baan voor je!
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Back in one of my academic homes for a few days. Always special to return to Oriel College, where I was a postdoc and Junior Research Fellow. Oriel was founded in 1326 (!). Oxford has cutting-edge science in an ancient place.
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Last slot before the conference dinner at #LHRS2026 — wish us luck :) We'll talk about parenting, genes, and child outcomes: how family background shapes behaviour, personality, and school achievement, and how we can disentangle genetic and environmental pathways 16:45–18:15, GS Auditorium 1, Oslo
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
🤧🧬 “When you sneeze, tiny bits of your DNA fly out.” True or false? Today I talked and experimented with Grade 6 pupils about genes, environment, practice, and experiences, and why children differ from one another. Great questions, lots of curiosity. #MeetTheProfessor vu.nl/en/news/2026...
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Excited to be affiliated with Karolinska Institutet (ki.se), Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (MEB)! Looking forward to collaborations on genetic epidemiology, neurodevelopmental conditions, & intergenerational research, using incredible Swedish twin and population data ki.se/en/people/el...
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Wonderful discussions at the LEAD Retreat in Tübingen after my keynote on genes, environments, learning, & ADHD. Interdisciplinary audiences always ask the best questions: about causality, stats, and what heritability means for intervention. And: 😀Keynote by day, acrobatics instructor by night 🤸‍♀️🧬
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Wonderful discussions at the LEAD Retreat in Tübingen after my keynote on genes, environments, learning, & ADHD. Interdisciplinary audiences always ask the best questions: about causality, stats, and what heritability means for intervention. And: 😀Keynote by day, acrobatics instructor by night 🤸‍♀️🧬
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
📄 Preprint: osf.io/dt647 🧮 Great collaboration led by Lotta Sieppi and @mtorppa.bsky.social, together with Daria Khanolainen, Eija Räikkönen, Jenni Salminen, Tuire Koponen, and myself. @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social @ntrbiopsy.bsky.social @mcls-official.bsky.social @mclstrainee.bsky.social 2/2
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
🎲 More informal home math activities (e.g. games) are linked to stronger arithmetic development. 🧬But parents also pass on genes related to math skills. After accounting for parental maths (Familial Control Method), associations attenuated. 🧠 #Dyscalculia runs in families. 📄 osf.io/dt647 1/2
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Vlad Ayzenberg @vayzenb.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
I think it's important for neuroscientists to reinforce this too. It's the first thing I teach in my cog neuro class. A thing isn't more real just because it's found in the brain. Every psychological thing must be in the brain at some level
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
🎲 More informal home math activities (e.g. games) are linked to stronger arithmetic development. 🧬But parents also pass on genes related to math skills. After accounting for parental maths (Familial Control Method), associations attenuated. 🧠 #Dyscalculia runs in families. 📄 osf.io/dt647 1/2
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
🌿 EdGen lab retreat Walking meetings, flash talks, writing sessions, discussing Paige Harden’s Original Sin, yoga/runs, and arts & crafts. A good reminder that science is also about creating space to think, collaborate, and enjoy science together. 🙏 to @jacobsfoundation.bsky.social & my lab
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Centre for Personalised Medicine @cpmoxford.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
This week we're pleased to share this highly commended entry from our 2025-26 Art Competition. This entry comes from Ottilie, age 13. The competition explored the meaning of 'personalised medicine', with entrants showing us what it means to them 💊🎨🖌️🧬
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Next week at the LEAD Retreat (Tübingen): 🎤 keynote on genetics × environment in learning & ADHD 🤸 partner acrobatics workshop Not a combination I often bring together! But both are about collaboration and balance 📷 Today at my home campus @vuamsterdam.bsky.social #AcademicLife #NeverGrowOld 1/2
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Next week at the LEAD Retreat (Tübingen): 🎤 keynote on genetics × environment in learning & ADHD 🤸 partner acrobatics workshop Not a combination I often bring together! But both are about collaboration and balance 📷 Today at my home campus @vuamsterdam.bsky.social #AcademicLife #NeverGrowOld 1/2
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Abdel Abdellaoui @dr-appie.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
We schreven voor Medisch Contact een artikel over polygene embryoselectie 🧬👶🏽 Hierin leggen we uit wat deze technologie wel en niet kan, waarom de voorspellende waarde beperkt is, welke onbedoelde neveneffecten er kunnen zijn, en welke ethische en maatschappelijke vragen dit oproept.
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Nicholas Judd @njudd.com · 01/04/2026
Job ad: Postdoc to work with me & @rogierk.bsky.social at the Donders on lifespan development questions from Sept onward! Profile: independent, good quant skills, interested in theory-driven work Please share widely www.careersatradboudumc.com/vacancies/po... #Postdoc #AcademicJobs
careersatradboudumc.com
Vacancy — Postdoctoral researcher cognitive development
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
🧩Learning to talk & read isn’t just about effort or teaching—it’s shaped by biology, experience & context 🧠Our new review links genetics, neuroscience, psychology & education to show why some children find language or reading easier. 📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf... 🖼️genes→brain→cognition→behaviour 🧵👇
Figure 2 in the review: Levels of analysis from genes and brain systems to cognition and behaviour.
The child both influences and is influenced by parents through genetically shaped interactions, and by the wider school and social environment.
Figure design by Neil Usher.
Figure from this review paper: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1
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Abdel Abdellaoui @dr-appie.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Me & @aysuo.bsky.social are hiring a postdoc to study gene–environment interplay in health & social inequalities 🧬 You'll analyze genomic data as part of a collaboration with Uppsala & Oslo at @amsterdamumc.bsky.social (NL) werkenbij.amsterdamumc.org/en/vacatures... Please RT for karma points ♥️
werkenbij.amsterdamumc.org
Vacatures - Postdoctoral researcher specialising in gene–environment interplay - Amsterdam UMC
Ready to unravel the complex interplay between genes and environment shaping health and society? Join our interdisciplinary team analyzing large-scale genomic data across Europe. Are you eager to contribute to groundbreaking research on health and social inequalities?
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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen
Eiko Fried @eikofried.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Hey friends, my new paper was just published in JAMA Psychiatry. I draw on biological species classification to sketch a new framework for psychiatric nosology. Brief summary follows below. Full text link: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... 🧪 #PsychSciSky #MentalHealth
jamanetwork.com
Mental Disorders as Homeostatic Property Clusters
This narrative review explores the idea of understanding mental disorders according to homeostatic property clusters rather than through typical classification systems.
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
🧮 Do home maths activities help children learn? Only partly. What looks like an “environmental effect” may partly reflect shared family characteristics. 🔗 osf.io/9hu3g 👉 Accounting for familial confounding matters in education research — and is why we developed the Familial Control Method.
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
We're hiring! Dutch-speaking student assistant (1–2 days/week) for our TwinWise project on genes, environment & children’s learning and neurodevelopment (Amsterdam). Are you a student who's interested in science and working with families/schools? Deadline 15 March werkenbij.vu.nl/vacatures/st...
werkenbij.vu.nl
Vacature — Student-Assistent Twinwise onderzoek
Ben je geinteresseerd in onderwijswetenschappen, vind je het leuk om met kinderen om te gaan en studeer je aan een Nederlandse universiteit of hogeschool? Dan is deze vacature iets voor jou!
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Working from Stockholm this week! Speaking at Karolinska Institutet on causal inference in education & ADHD, using family-based & genomic designs. Grateful to the Psychiatric Epidemiology group for the invitation and warm welcome. Come say hi if you’re around!
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
We're hiring! Dutch-speaking student assistant (1–2 days/week) for our TwinWise project on genes, environment & children’s learning and neurodevelopment (Amsterdam). Are you a student who's interested in science and working with families/schools? Deadline 15 March werkenbij.vu.nl/vacatures/st...
werkenbij.vu.nl
Vacature — Student-Assistent Twinwise onderzoek
Ben je geinteresseerd in onderwijswetenschappen, vind je het leuk om met kinderen om te gaan en studeer je aan een Nederlandse universiteit of hogeschool? Dan is deze vacature iets voor jou!
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
DNA or parents’ reading: what predicts #dyslexia risk? 🧬 Polygenic score → 6% 🎓 Each parent’s education → 6% 📚 Parents' reading ability → 21% PGS are informative, not diagnostic. Family phenotypes predict at least as much as DNA Preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps... 21%: doi.org/10.1080/1088...
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Caroline Rowland @carorowland.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Really important point here from Elsje. It is crucial to include information about genetic/familial links when considering causes of disorders but lets not hype them as the ultimate solution.
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
DNA or parents’ reading: what predicts #dyslexia risk? 🧬 Polygenic score → 6% 🎓 Each parent’s education → 6% 📚 Parents' reading ability → 21% PGS are informative, not diagnostic. Family phenotypes predict at least as much as DNA Preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps... 21%: doi.org/10.1080/1088...
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
📢 LEARN! seminar in Amsterdam Genetics meets environment: twin studies & polygenic scores in learning and neurodiversity. 📅 12 Feb | 📍 VU Amsterdam | 🍷 drinks afterwards All are very welcome! This marks me starting as Programme Leader Educational Neuroscience at LEARN! @geneamsterdam.bsky.social
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
📢 LEARN! seminar in Amsterdam Genetics meets environment: twin studies & polygenic scores in learning and neurodiversity. 📅 12 Feb | 📍 VU Amsterdam | 🍷 drinks afterwards All are very welcome! This marks me starting as Programme Leader Educational Neuroscience at LEARN! @geneamsterdam.bsky.social
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Genetics Network Amsterdam @geneamsterdam.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Thanks everyone who attended the 4th annual #GENEAmsterdam meeting - we had a great time! Keep an eye out for the website and socials - more details on the day will be posted soon 👀 ! For now, a large thanks to Adrià Túnez Aquilué, Tessa Zonneveld and Aysu Okbay for this years organization.
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rogier kievit @rogierk.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
New paper by PD student Bob Kapteijns (not on bsky) How do reading, math, and various cognitive skills "grow together" in early childhood? 🧠📚 osf.io/preprints/ps...
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Genetics Network Amsterdam @geneamsterdam.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
🎙️Out now: the first episode of the new @essgn.bsky.social podcast by @rafaelahlskog.bsky.social @aysuo.bsky.social, featuring @dr-appie.bsky.social essgn.podbean.com/e/1-abdel-ab...
essgn.podbean.com
1. Abdel Abdellaoui on social science genetics | Born and Raised
In this very first episode of Born and Raised, hosts Rafael and Aysu visit behavior geneticist Abdel Abdellaoui in his office at the Amsterdam University Medical Center. They talk about the nature of ...
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
🎙️Thanks to @eugeniakis.bsky.social for the thoughtful conversation on her #podcast Psychology Inside Out. open.spotify.com/episode/6Sxt... @geneamsterdam.bsky.social @ntrbiopsy.bsky.social (2/2)
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Abdel Abdellaoui @dr-appie.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
People often ask me what I use to create my plots. I use mostly R, but I have to admit that I cheat a little bit with Adobe Illustrator 🧑🏽‍🎨 See slide show below for some of my edits 👇🏽
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
🎙️ #Podcast open.spotify.com/episode/6Sxt... 🧬 genetics shape differences — but are not destiny 🧠 dyslexia & ADHD often co-occur due to shared genes 👨‍👩‍👧 families pass on both genes and environments 🎓 better science → fairer education & mental-health support 🧭 also reflects on non-linear academic paths
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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Unusually white #Amsterdam this week ❄️ Slippery cycling, but incredibly beautiful. 📍Kalfjeslaan #winter #snow #sneeuw #Netherlands #cycling #fietsen
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