Leonie Balter | RESEARCH FELLOW
Leonie holds a joint PhD from the University of Amsterdam and University of Birmingham. Following her PhD, she conducted postdoctoral research and subsequently worked as a researcher at Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University. Her research centres on understanding why certain individuals are more prone to developing cognitive and psychiatric issues than others. Leonie’s work focuses on intra- and inter-individual differences, investigating how factors such as sleep, circadian rhythms, and immune disturbances contribute to variations in resilience and vulnerability. By adopting a dimensional approach, she studies people across the spectrum of psychiatric experiences, from no/minimal to clinically significant challenges.
Leonie uses experimental models such as sleep restriction/deprivation, and vaccination to induce low-grade inflammation, as well as cognitive and ecological momentary assessments/interventions (EMA/EMI) to gather real-time data. She has a keen interest in time-series data, particularly in how patterns of behaviour, cognition, symptoms, and physiology vary within a single day, from day-to-day, and across seasons. By studying these temporal variations, she aims to uncover insights into how these dynamics relate to future health, and how they can inform the development of personalised interventions.
Leonie remains affiliated to Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University. In collaboration with Roshan Cools she will map out the diversity of individual responses to methylphenidate, aiming to identify unique response profiles.