Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 19, 2026

Danielle Posthuma

Danielle Posthuma is a Dutch behavior and psychiatric geneticist who specializes in statistical genetics. She is a University Research Chair professor at VU University Amsterdam, where she is also head of the Department of Complex Trait Genetics. She has been a member of the Young Academy of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences since 2005. Danielle Posthuma was appointed a URC professor on 1 January 2016.

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Jul 19, 2026
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Danielle Posthuma
Born1972 (age 53–54)
EducationVU University Amsterdam
Known forStatistical genetics and GWASs of cognitive and psychiatric traits
Awards2006 Fuller and Scott Award from the Behavior Genetics Association
Scientific career
Fields
InstitutionsVU University Amsterdam

Danielle Posthuma (born 1972) is a Dutch behavior and psychiatric geneticist who specializes in statistical genetics.12 She is a University Research Chair professor at VU University Amsterdam, where she is also head of the Department of Complex Trait Genetics. She has been a member of the Young Academy of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences since 2005.13 Danielle Posthuma was appointed a URC professor on 1 January 2016.1

Biography

Posthuma completed three MSc’s in clinical and biological psychology and medical anthropology before she graduated cum laude with her PhD in 2002 at the VU University Amsterdam.3

She is known for studying the genetics of psychiatric and cognitive traits, including schizophrenia, neuroticism, Alzheimer's disease, insomnia, as well as genetics of intelligence, which she first became interested in researching in the 1990s.456 In 2019 Posthuma became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.7

Honors

  • Scott Fuller Memorial Award from the International Behavior Genetics Association (2005), for early career outstanding scientific achievements
  • Richard Todd award for outstanding contributions to child psychiatry, from the International Society for Psychiatric Genetics (2017)
  • Lodewijk Sandkuijl award for contributions to statistical genetics from the Dutch Society of Human Genetics (2019)
  • Elected as one of the 400 most successful women, in the category ‘smart’, under the age of 38 in the Netherlands (2008, 2009 and 2010)
  • Mensa Foundation Prize, which is awarded biennially for the best scientific discovery in the field of intelligence or creativity (2021)
References

References

  1. "Danielle Posthuma - University Research Chair". Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  2. Regalado, Antonio (2018-02-02). "A search for insomnia genes involving 1.3 million people is the largest genetic study ever". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  3. "Danielle Posthuma". VUMC CTG. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  4. Zimmer, Carl (2017-05-22). "In 'Enormous Success,' Scientists Tie 52 Genes to Human Intelligence". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  5. Sample, Ian (2017-05-22). "Scientists identify 40 genes that shed new light on biology of intelligence". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  6. Gibbons, Ann (2018-06-25). "Hundreds of new genes may underlie intelligence—but also autism and depression". Science. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  7. "KNAW kiest negentien nieuwe leden". KNAW (in Dutch). 2019-04-24. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
External links