dr. E (Emese) Kroon

Biography

I am a passionate researcher with a background in neurobiology and psychology. My research vision is guided by the principle that substance use should not be reduced to isolated mechanisms or deficit models; instead, individual behavior must be understood in its full cognitive, motivational, social, and cultural context. I aim to advance both fundamental science and societal understanding by integrating rigorous neurocognitive research with attention to real-world influences and accurate measurement, translating scientific insights into evidence-informed policy and public dialogue.

Hence, my research focuses on the interactions between internal (e.g. brain functioning, cognition, mental health) and external (e.g. social interactions, culture, context) factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of substance use disorders. Furthermore, I focuss on the development of measurement tools that allow us to accurately and efficiently measure subtance use and related factors in an accessible way that is suitable across contexts.

As a PhD candidate at the Department of Developmental Psychology of the University of Amsterdam, I contributed to multiple lines of research on alcohol and cannabis use disorders, covering a wide range of topics from unraveling the fundamental neural underpinnings of substance use disorders to the role of social interaction and cultural attitudes in substance use in daily life.

As a postdoc at the Department of Psychology, Education & Child Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam, I continued this work by setting up a large-scale international experience sampling methods (ESM) study in which we focus on the interactions between (neuro)cognition, mental health, and cannabis use in both medicinal and recreational users. Furthermore, we aim to assess the perceived harms and benefits of medicinal and recreational cannabis use around the world in different population of cannabis users, researchers, and clinical professionals. We believe this type of research, using a multi-stakeholder perspective, is crucial to inform policy and health care efforts for the prevention of substance use related harms and substance use disorders.

As a postdoc at Aarhus University, I am in involved in a large-scale intervention study aimed at reducing alcohol consumption in over 3000 high school students. Within this large study, I focus on measurement validation and the role of social attunement and peer norms in alcohol consumption. Furthermore, the longitudinal nature of the study allows us to assess how these associations develop over time.

Ultimately, I hope my work can inspire others to embrace the complexity of substance use disorders – treating individual differences and varying perspectives as crucial pieces of the puzzle rather than obstacles to overcome – in order to improve treatment outcomes.