Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Tjitske received her master’s degree in human movement science from the VU University Amsterdam and her PhD degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Twente (Netherlands), the latter under the supervision of Dr. Herman van der Kooij and Dr. Bastiaan Bloem. She currently works as a post-doctoral research fellow with Dr. Amy Bastian at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Her research focuses on developing and evaluating novel assessment/treatment techniques to quantify and better understand gait and balance impairments in people with neurological damage or disease, such as Parkinson’s disease. She uses movement analysis, techniques from engineering (i.e., system identification) and non-invasive brain stimulation (tDCS), with the ultimate goal to improve existing treatment options. She is currently investigating whether tDCS over the cerebellum can improve gait and balance in people with Parkinson’s disease.