#TeamCANDY
Introducing Anna Praat
Anna Praat, Research Assistant
PIP-CANDY and MPX study
Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen
Can you explain your research and role in CANDY in 2 sentences?
I am mostly present during the testdays for the PIP study and Multiplex study. I do the EEG tasks and the WISC and WAIS tests.
What do your friends and family think what you are doing in the clinic?
They think I put electrodes on peoples head all the time to measure brain activity.
What are you really doing most of your work time?
Administration and preparation to make sure testdays run smoothly when a participant comes in.
What’s your favourite and / or least favourite task in the clinic?
My favourite task is administering the EEG and the IQ tests, because you have a lot of contact with the participants. My least favourite task is administration.
Why you have chosen to work in the field of neurodevelopmental conditions?
I want to contribute to a better understanding of neurodevelopmental conditions. I believe this can aid in earlier intervention and finding more fitting support for people with a neurodevelopmental condition.
Why does your research matter to the general public?
Both the PIP and Multiplex study matters to the general public because they both create more awareness about neurodevelopmental conditions. Also for people without a diagnosis it can be helpful to understand more about these conditions so they can adapt their behaviour or understand the behaviour of colleagues/classmates etc. better.
What is your personal highlight in CANDY up to now?
A parent thanked us for our patience with her child with ADHD, while it was such a nice and well behaving child. It was nice to see how grateful parents are that you adjust yourself to their child and give them all the patience and time they need to do a task.
Which publication or researcher influenced you most?
The researcher that influenced me the most is dr. Carlijn van den Boomen, Utrecht University, who is not with the candy project. I learned a lot from her during my studies.
Coffee or Tea? Coffee
Mac or PC? Mac
Cats or dogs? Dogs
Mountain or sea? Sea
What’s your favourite thing to do outside the clinic?
Doing fun activities like going for a hike with friends.
How does your perfect day-off looks like?
Start the day of with going for a run or bike ride, do some reading, meet up with friends for a coffee or a drink in the afternoon.
Best recent series or movie or novel?
Best recent TV series is definitely “Succession”. Best recent novel is a Dutch book from Suzanna Jansen: “De omwenteling”.