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The Erasmus MC team, specifically Serena Defina supervised by Ryan Muetzel, developed the (first version of the) verywise R package. The package is fully open-source, and it now enables the analysis of longitudinal (i.e., multi-session) as well as multi-site neuroimaging data via the estimation of vertex-wise linear mixed models. Several key features have been implemented and tested. Most notably, speed/performance enhancement (it can run in under 30min on large datasets, e.g. a 5,000 to 10,000 subjects dataset including 2 to 3 sessions per subject), flexible model specification and accommodation of multiple imputation datasets (in all most common formats; note that this is currently the only tool that supports this), to account for selection bias. The source code and package documentation is publicly available on GitHub.

In addition to this, the team has rolled out a unique visualisation suite which allows for interactive inspection and visualisation if verywise (and QDECR) output. This is a complement the R package, which we have called verywiseWIZard. It is a open-source, user-friendly web application developed using Python hosted publicly here. It is designed for (very fast) 3D rendering of whole-brain surface statistical maps. It provides useful summary statistics, allows for quick and easy comparison of different statistical maps (e.g. across different predictors, different model or different cohorts for example), and generates publication-ready images. The source code for this application is also publicly available through GitHub.

To see a poster on verywise, click here.

In March 2025, Samuel James Henry, a Postdoc at the University of Tartu, attended the annual HiTOP conference, held this year in Denver, CO, USA from March 27-29, 2025. He gave a talk as part of the symposium “Unpacking Bias and Validity in HiTOP: Multi-Informant Approaches to Psychopathology.” In more detail, he presented a novel methodology for analysing psychopathology data using multiple informants (self-and informant-reports).

Attending HiTOP provided an excellent opportunity for him to meet and integrate with the HiTOP community and has already resulted in several new collaborations related to understanding the empirical structure of psychopathology. For example, he has joined a workgroup focused on developing an informant-report version of the new HiTOP-PRO. Networking with experts in the HiTOP area will provide the UT team with the expertise and experience to advance the project’s work on developing dimensional cross-walk models of psychopathology.

For more pictures, click here. Slides are available here.

In February 2025, Matic Kadiš and F. Zehra Keskin Kržan from the University of Maribor, again visited Erasmus MC to advance the Infant2Adult project. The main aim of the visit was to continue harmonizing and preprocessing data of the three large studies central to the project (BLS, ALSPAC and GenR), to prepare for the analysis stage. 

During the visit, the Maribor team received valuable guidance and support from the EMC group, and participated in meetings and lab sessions, which helped to significantly push the work forward. The team also became familiar with the VERYWISE toolbox, which was developed by the EMC group as part of the Infant2Adult project (extending the previous QDECR toolbox), and which will be used for the upcoming analyses. The visit strengthened the collaboration between both partners, contributing to the progress of the project and future joint research.

In October 2024, PhD students and Infant2Adult team members from the University of Maribor, Matic Kadiš and F. Zehra Keskin Kržan, visited the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. The main aim of this visit was to further the work on the Infant2Adult project. Matic and Fatma met with the Erasmus MC team to advance the project and get more familiar with data and analyzing the Generation R dataset, which is crucial for the research. The visit helped strengthen the collaboration between the research groups of both institutions.

During their stay, Matic and Zehra participated in meetings and lab sessions, discussing ideas and research methods with the Erasmus MC colleagues. They also received valuable guidance from senior GenerationR researchers, which enhanced their understanding and approach to the data. This visit was an important step in the ongoing collaboration between the University of Maribor and Erasmus MC. The knowledge gained and connections made will support the success of the Infant2Adult project and future joint efforts. Both institutions look forward to continuing their partnership and advancing their research together.

For more pictures, click here.

The FLAG-ERA Seminar, which took place on 17 and 18 September 2024, brought together coordinators of the 2021 and 2023 FLAG-ERA projects. Satja Mulej Bratec attended the seminar and presented the Infant2Adult project. The seminar offered the opportunity to meet other project leaders and connect with representatives of various funding bodies involved in the Flagship FLAG-ERA. The venue for the meeting was the beautiful Piperska Muren in the centre of Stockholm in Sweden.

The programme also included presentations of especially successful finished projects, a closer look at the EBRAINS platform and opportunities it offers, as well as an overview of relevant open science and responsible research practices.

For more pictures, click here.

On May 27th and 28th, 2024, Erasmus MC in Rotterdam hosted the kick-off of an ambitious international research project aimed at exploring the impact of early-life regulatory problems (RPs) on long-term mental health outcomes. The project, which brings together experts from three major population-based studies—Generation R, ALSPAC, and BLS—seeks to uncover how early difficulties with sleep, crying, and feeding can influence behavioral, emotional, and social development from childhood into adulthood.

Despite their high prevalence and significant implications, RPs remain understudied, often treated in isolation without considering the interconnected nature of neurobiological factors. This project addresses this gap by analyzing rich phenotypic and neuroimaging data, employing cutting-edge statistical tools to better understand the neurobiological pathways linking early RPs to mental health. By developing innovative methods for cross-timepoint and cross-dataset analysis, the project aims to advance the field of neuroscience and inform early intervention strategies to improve mental health trajectories across the lifespan.

For more pictures, click here.