Society and ageing research lab

TEAM

Academic staff

Liesbeth De Donder

Director Research Lab

Liesbeth is head of the SARLab and leads the research line on “Care and caring communities”.

Sarah Dury

Co-director Research Lab

Sarah leads the research line on “Social relations and civic participation”.

An-Sofie Smetcoren

Co-director Research Lab

An-Sofie leads the research line "Housing and living environment".

Postdoctoral researchers

Sylvia Hoens

Senior Researcher

Sylvia conducts research on “alternative care workers” using participatory evaluation methods.   

Sofie Van Regenmortel

Senior Researcher

Sofie provides statistical support to research projects and conducts research on social exclusion in later life. 

Daan Duppen

Senior Researcher

Daan conducts research on meaning in later life. 

Honghui Pan

Senior Researcher

Honghui investigates the wellbeing and loneliness in older Chinese migrants. 

Researchers

Bas Dikmans

PhD Researcher

Bas is a qualitative researcher focusing on civic engagement of older adults in two disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Brussels. 

Hannelore Stegen

PhD Researcher

Hannelore studies loneliness among childless older people.  

Anton Swillens

PhD Researcher

Anton examines the influence of housing on the subjective well-being of older people. 

Toon Vercauteren

PhD Researcher

Toon focuses on civic engagement of older people. He mainly works with quantitative research methods.   

Ariane Vanbellinghen

PhD Researcher

Ariane investigates the relation between housing and wellbeing from a lifecourse perspective.  

Hanne Bakelants

PhD Researcher

Hanne examines the development, implementation, and evaluation of the VUB as a ‘Compassionate University’.  

Suzannah D'Hooghe

PhD Researcher

Suzannah studies the role of the perceived environment on exercise and nutrition behavior in socioeconomically disadvantaged adults. 

Octavia Kint 

PhD Researcher

Octavia is action researcher on the topic of caring communities in Brussels. 

Alexis Creten

Project Researcher 

Alexis works as action researcher on the Adhzis-project, aiming to create an inclusive, neighbourhood-oriented care model in Schaarbeek. Funded by Innoviris Co-Create.

Freya Häussermann

PhD Researcher

Freya examines the influence of neighbourhood and environment on multidimensional adult loneliness.

Administrative staff

Lieselot Degraeve

Knowledge valorisation officer 

Lieselot facilitates the non-scientific communication, dissemination and valorisation. 

Affiliated members

Saloua Berdai  

Voluntary research associate 

Saloua wrote her PhD on dementia care for older people with a migration background. 

Lise Switsers 

Voluntary research associate 

Lise wrote her PhD on loneliness among older people, using a lifecourse perspective.  

Bram Fret 

Voluntary research associate 

Bram wrote his PhD on care and support for older people living at home within the D-SCOPE project. 

Deborah Lambotte

Voluntary research associate 

Deborah wrote her PhD on care networks in frail, community dwelling older adults within the D-SCOPE project. Currently, she works as researcher within the “research consortium “360° Zorg en Welzijn at University College Hogent, where she continues her research on informal care and care networks. 

Ann Claeys 

Voluntary research associate 

Ann is currently writing her PhD on culture-sensitive care and cultural competences among healthcare professionals within the Diverse Elderly Care project. 

Mirte Clerix 

Joint PhD Researcher 

Mirte is currently writing her PhD on the influence of collectivity and housing on the wellbeing of older adults within the HOUSE project. This is a joint PhD with Hasselt University as the main institution. 

Sander Lambrix 

Joint PhD Researcher 

Sander is currently writing his PhD within the HOUSE project. This is a joint PhD with Hasselt University as the main institution. 

Micheline Phlix 

Joint PhD Researcher 

Micheline is currently writing her PhD on 'Ageing in the context of migration: integrating a sense of home & wellbeing in diversity-sensitive housing design'. This is a joint PhD with Hasselt University as the main institution. 

Yasemin Inaç 

Joint PhD Researcher 

Yasemin works on the Civisano-project. This is a joint PhD with Ugent as the main institution. 

Thomas Dawance 

Interdisciplinary PhD-Researcher 

Thomas is currently writing his PhD on the CALICO project. This is an interdisciplinary PhD in collaboration with COSMOPOLIS research group at the VUB.   

Eva Dierckx 

Professor 

Eva is professor within the department PSYC at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and is member of the research staff within Alexianen Care group Tienen. Within the SARLab she was promotor of the D-SCOPE project and supervises different PhD-studies on loneliness and psychological wellbeing in later life. 

Sara Marsillas 

Visiting Researcher (Spain) 

Sara wrote her PhD on Active Ageing. Within the Matia Gerontological Institute, she is specialised in research on loneliness among older people and care innovation. 

Dorien Brosens 

Professor PALD  

On the operational level, SARLab closely cooperates with the PALD research group (Participation and Learning in Detention). Dorien does research on participation and learning in prison. Her current FWO-postdoc-research project focuses on peer programs in prison. 

Silke Marynissen 

PhD Researcher PALD 

On the operational level, SARLab closely cooperates with the PALD research group (Participation and Learning in Detention). Silke is currently writing her PhD on participative music programs in prison, starting from the perspective of realist science. 

Leen Vandevelde 

PhD Researcher PALD 

On the operational level, SARLab closely cooperates with the PALD research group (Participation and Learning in Detention). Leen works on the BRUG-project, researching the needs of people in prisons to reintegrate.  

Lisa Van hove

PhD Researcher

Lisa is working on a PhD on "Suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury in older adults" (supervisor: Prof. Dr. Imke Baetens and Dr. Steven Vanderstichelen). She is also employed as a research assistant at the International Consortium on Self-injury in Educational Settings, member of BRUCC, COCO and is a clinical psychologist.

Fernanda Juma

Visiting Researcher

Fernanda is currently writing her PhD on the implications of demographic ageing in Europe, which includes issues such as social exclusion and loneliness in later life. She is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Quantitative Methods (PHD in Economics: Instruments of Economic Analysis) of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).

Tess Hartland

Visiting Researcher 

Tess is a PhD researcher from the University of Manchester exploring how urban environments can support healthy ageing for older refugees and asylum seekers. She is currently conducting qualitative fieldwork in Brussels. 

Joana Salles

Visiting Researcher 

Joana is a PhD researcher from the University of Manchester. Using audio-visual methods, she investigates how older people collectively organise around the urban commons to resist gentrification.