SAFER Lab ​



In the SAFER Lab we conduct Social, Affective, Forensic and Electrophysiological Research to promote a safer society. In our research we study fundamental electrophysiological mechanisms in relation to forensic psychological themes, such as violence and psychopathic personality. Moreover we aim to translate these neurobiological insights into different fields of practice, such as law, forensic mental healthcare and policy. ​


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Josanne van Dongen, PhD.
Lab director

Josanne van Dongen is currently appointed as associate professor of forensic psychology at the Erasmus University Rotterdam where she is the program lead for the forensic education in the master specialization of Forensic and Legal Psychology. After her initial research on the link between psychosis and violence, she started to study antisocial and psychopathic personality in relation to aggression. Her focus is on neurobiological correlates of psychopathy, for example electrophysiology and brain modulation techniques to investigate the role of empathy in relation to callous and unemotional traits. Insights from this research are used to develop new interventions that may reduce violence risk.
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Emily Soong, MSc. 
PhD candidate

​​Emily Soong obtained her bachelor's in psychology from National Chengchi University, Taiwan, and enriched her expertise in neuroscience with a research master's in Neuroscience at the Erasmus Medical Center/Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her research interest lies in the promising intersection of neuroscience and emotional regulation, specifically in using neuromodulation and neurofeedback to influence behaviors. In her PhD, her focus is on harnessing different neural modulating techniques to enhance empathy or reduce aggression, contributing to societal well-being.

Tessa van den Broek, MSc. 
PhD candidate

Tessa van den Broek obtained her master's in Forensic and Legal Psychology at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2022. During her study she was a reserach assistant for the NSCR, where she worked on a review about externalizing problems in youth. After obtaining her master's degree, she became a junior researcher at the WODC in Utrecht, where she conducted research on policy concerning the 'Wet Langdurig Toezicht' and 'Weigerende Observandi in het PBC'. She currently works on her PhD research within the "Regionale Kenniswerkplaats Onbegrepen/Verward Gedrag Rotterdam-Rijnmond' on risk analysis for those with concerning behavior who pose a risk for violence. 

Helena Scharnowski
PhD candidate 

Helena did her master in Forensic and Legal Psychology, during which she did an internship at the United Nations. She graduated in 2022 after which she became a research assistant at Leiden University studying terrorism. At the same time, she started as a lecturer at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, which she still is. She currently also conducts PhD research focusing on psychophysiological and electrophysiological underpinnings of aggression. 

Carmen Sergiou, MSc. 
PhD candidate (Thesis defended May, 2022)

​Carmen studied Clinical Forensic Psychology at the University of Amsterdam and worked on different projects within forensic psychiatry. Currently she is working on a her PhD project involving electrophysiological correlates of substance related aggressive behavior and tDCS neuromodulation as an intervention to reduce aggression in forensic patients. 
She currently is in Boston to work on a project involving tDCS effects on brain networks in forensic patients in collaboration with Dr. Emiliano Santarnecchi, Harvard Medical School.

Mila Ivanova, MSc. 
PhD candidate (stopped in 2021)

Mila studied medicine at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and Clinical Psychology at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam before she started her PhD project in 2019. Her research focuses on 'neuroprediction', the use of neuroscientific correlates in violence risk prediction. ​

Mohd Ali Md-Salim, MSc.
In memoriam
PhD candidate 

Ali was a PhD candidate working on a project involving electrophysiological correlated of frustration based aggression. He started the final year of his PhD project when he died during the MH17 crash on July 17th, 2014. 

Graduate students / RA's
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​Denisa Alfoldyova obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and is currently following the Forensic & Legal Psychology Master’s. She has previously worked as a research assistant on various projects. Currently, she is working on the EEG project focused on taVNS as a form of neuromodulation for emotional regulation and reactive aggression. ​
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​Lies Poppe is from Belgium and studied a bachelor’s in clinical psychology at Ghent University. After that she went to Free University of Brussels to study a master’s degree in clinical psychology with a focus on neuropsychology. Currently she is studying a master’s degree in forensic and legal psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her research internship in SAFER lab is about the role of positive and motor empathy in psychopathic personalities and how this can be validated by EEG.
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My name is Lotte Smink and I did my bachelor psychology at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and now I am studying     the master Legal and forensic psychology also at the EUR. For my research internship, I study taVNS as a tool for modulating emotion regulation. ​
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My name is regan Vonk and I obtained my bachelor's degree at the University of Utrecht studying Cognitive and Neurobiological Psychology. Currently      I am studying the master Forensic and Legal Psychology at the Erasmus Univeristy in Rottterdam. My research in the      SAFER lab is about emotional regulation and reduced emotional reactivity in inidividuals with psychopathic traits combining an EEG study and the validiation of the DERS measurement. I'm excited about the thesis project! ​
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​My name is Adriana and I'm from Germany. I obtained my bachelor's degree in psychology at the Abertay University Dundee, and I am currently doing my master's in forensic and legal psychology at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. My research internship in the SAFER lab is about modulating emotion regulation and aggression using taVNS. 

Affiliated members
Forensic and Legal Psychology Group

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    Eric Rassin, PhD.
    Full Professor of Legal Psychology
    Erasmus University Rotterdam
​    Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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      Reshmi Marhe, PhD.
      Assistant Professor of Forensic Psychology
      Erasmus University Rotterdam,
​      Rotterdam, the Netherlands 
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    Irena Boskovic
    Assistant Professor of Forensic Psychology
    Erasmus University Rotterdam
    Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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    Melissa de Roos, PhD.
    Assistant Professor of Forensic Psychology
    Erasmus University Rotterdam
​    Rotterdam, the Netherlands 
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    Gary Macpherson, DClin Psychol.
    Guest Lecturer Forensic and Legal Psychology
    Erasmus University Rotterdam
​    Rotterdam, the Netherlands 
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Lab collaborators

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          Inti Brazil, PhD.
          SAMBA Group
          Radboud University Nijmegen
​          Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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          Emiliano Santarnecchi, PhD. 
          Network Control Laboratory 
​          Harvard Medical School 
          Boston, United States 
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          Ingmar Franken, PhD.
          Institute for Addiction Science
          Erasmus University Rotterdam
​          Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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