Who is Nicolas Leenaerts?
Well, that’s me! A psychiatry resident working on Franciscus at UPC KU Leuven in Belgium, the semi-residential treatment program for patients with an alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, or benzodiazepine use disorder. Additionally, I’m training in cognitive behavioral therapy and doing research at the KU Leuven.
What is Belgium?
Belgium is a country nestled in the heart of Western Europe. It’s not only my home, but also the place where I went to university and where I currently work.
Source: Brochure “Belgium at a glance”, belgium.be
What is the KU Leuven?
Source: kuleuven.be
The KU Leuven is a 600-year old university in Belgium with famous alumni such as Erasmus and Vesalius. I attended the KU Leuven to study medicine. Afterwards, I started my psychiatry residency and earned my PhD in Biomedical Sciences under the guidance of Professor Elske Vrieze. My doctoral research focused on investigating the relation between stress, negative affect, and binge behavior with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). I bundled my research findings in a thesis titled ‘Spinning Out Of Control: How Stress And Negative Affect Lead To Binge Behavior In Bulimia Nervosa And Alcohol Use Disorder.’
So what are my current research interests?
During my PhD, I became more and more interested in all things related to machine learning. Specifically, I am passionate about the development of prediction models for a Just-In-Time Adaptive Intervention (JITAI). In a JITAI, interventions are delivered in real-time when patients need them the most, and I am convinced that they will be a breakthrough in the history of psychotherapy. With the help of Peter Soyster (UC Berkeley) and prof. Aaron Fisher (UC Berkeley), I have built pooled and person-specific prediction models for daily life eating and alcohol use behavior in patients with bulimia nervosa or alcohol use disorder. In a collaboration with prof. Kelsey Hagan (Virginia Commonwealth University) and prof. Lisa Ranzenhofer (Columbia University), I have developed pooled and person-specific prediction models for daily life loss-of-control eating and overeating in adolescents. You can find the preprints of this work on PsyArXiv by clicking the link in the sidebar on the left. Together with researchers of the KU Leuven, I have built prediction models for the survival of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and for the motor function of patients with cerebral palsy. I hope to come out with this work in the coming months.
Beyond the practical application of machine learning, I’m invested in advancing methodological knowledge within the field. With the help of prof. Maarten Van Smeden (UMC Utrecht), I am working on a simulation study to evaluate different multiple imputation strategies in penalized regression prediction models. Furthermore, I am a strong believer in sharing tools with other researchers. Therefore, there are several github repositories that on the ‘Projects’ page that allow researchers to build methodologically correct prediction models.
Looking ahead, I’m eager to broaden my expertise in reinforcement learning. To do so, I’m seeking partnerships for a self-funded postdoctoral project focused on the integration of reinforcement learning within the realm of JITAIs.
What’s my clinical work about?
In August 2018, I started my psychiatry residency at UPC KU Leuven. There, I worked in ambulatory care, gaining experience in treating patients with anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder. After the end of my PhD, from February 2023 until September 2023, I worked on the High and Intensive Care unit in OPZ Geel and in the Mobile Crisis Team of GGZ Kempen, learning how to treat patients who had a variety of psychiatric disorders and were in a crisis. Afterwards, between October 2023 and September 2024, I worked at Zorggroep Sint-Kamillus and the penitentiary of Merksplas, where I provided care to patients in a forensic psychiatry setting. Since October 2024, I work in the semi-residential treatment program for patients with an alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, or benzodiazepine use disorder at UPC KU Leuven in Belgium.
Additionally, I started training in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in 2022, and provide CBT to several patients on an ambulatory basis. I am especially interested in providing psychotherapy to patients with a substance use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.