Dr. M.K. (Marie) Deserno
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Programme group Clinical Psychology
Area of expertise: Atypical Development, Models of change (SEM, network analysis), Cognition and social learning, Treatment trajectories, Depression
Visiting address
- Nieuwe Achtergracht 129
- Room number: 1.42
Postal address
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Postbus 15915
1001 NK Amsterdam
Contact details
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Profile
dr. Marie Deserno is Assistant Professor (UD1) in the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Her research focuses on understanding how dynamic patterns of psychological change across development relate to mental health and psychiatric vulnerability. She is particularly interested in the emergence, development, and decline of cognitive abilities across the lifespan, as well as day-to-day fluctuations in clinical symptoms and their implications for treatment outcomes. A central aim of her work is to identify developmental patterns and dynamic indicators that can help explain and predict mental health problems and functional impairments.
Her research combines developmental psychological theory with innovative methodological approaches to capture the dynamic nature of psychological processes. As a Young Talent, she is involved in the New Science of Mental Disorders (NSMD) consortium, an interdisciplinary research initiative that aims to advance the understanding of mental disorders through new conceptual and methodological approaches to psychopathology.
After obtaining her PhD at the UvA (supervision: prof. Hilde Geurts, prof. Denny Borsboom, prof. Sander Begeer), Marie was a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge (UK) in the Lifespan Lab of prof. Rogier Kievit and subsequently held an NWO Rubicon fellowship in the Formal Methods group at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin with prof. Charles Driver. She returned to the UvA in 2022 to establish her independent research programme within the Department of Clinical Psychology, supported by an NWO Veni grant. In 2026, Marie held an IAS Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at the UvA in collaboration with dr. Alexander Savi, working on how developmental psychological theories can be formalised as evolutionary networks.
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Teaching & PhD supervision
PhD supervision
- Marijn Nijboer (2024-current; part of supervisory team for project of PAINT consortium)
- Emma Turmaine (2025-current; co-supervisor: prof. Henk-Jan Conradi, promotor: prof. Merel Kindt)
- Sayo Stefflbauer (2026-current; with dr. Tessa Blanken, prof. Merel Kindt, NSMD team)
- Iris Rapoport (2026-current; with dr. Tessa Blanken, prof. Merel Kindt, NSMD team)
Teaching
- Evidence-based clinical practice: Research Methods (3rd year course - Bachelor Clinical Psychology)
- Data science in Clinical Practice (Research Master Psychology)
- Postdoctoraal Onderwijs bij de RINO Groep: Grondslagen – Methodologische Aspecten Deel 1: Single Case Experimental Designs, Time Series in de GGZ
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Publications
2026
- Psyllou, C., Deserno, M. K., Leijten, P., van der Oord, S., van den Hoofdakker, B. J., Dekkers, T. J., PAINT-IPDMA Collaborators, Luman, M., & Groenman, A. P. (2026). Study Preregistration: Do Parenting Programs Change Interrelations Among Child Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder Characteristics? Individual Participant Data Network Analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2026.05.009
2025
Rahbari, L., Kramer, D., Deserno, M., Tse, T., & Matos, T. R. (2025). Activism and academia: An interdisciplinary dialogue on academic freedom and social engagement. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 47(1), 73-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2024.2390197 [details]
2023
- Deserno, M. K., Bathelt, J., Groenman, A. P., & Geurts, H. M. (2023). Probing the overarching continuum theory: data-driven phenotypic clustering of children with ASD or ADHD. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(10), 1909–1923. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-01986-9 [details]
- Deserno, M. K., Fuhrmann, D., Begeer, S., Borsboom, D., Geurts, H. M., & Kievit, R. A. (2023). Longitudinal development of language and fine motor skills is correlated, but not coupled, in a childhood atypical cohort. Autism, 27(1), 133-144. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221086448 [details]
- de Ron, J., Deserno, M., Robinaugh, D., Borsboom, D., & van der Maas, H. L. J. (2023). Towards a general modeling framework of resource competition in cognitive development. Child Development, 94(6), 1432-1453. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13973 [details]
- van der Wal, J. M., van Borkulo, C. D., Haslbeck, J. M. B., Slofstra, C., Klein, N. S., Blanken, T. F., Deserno, M. K., Lok, A., Nauta, M. H., & Bockting, C. L. (2023). Differential impact of preventive cognitive therapy while tapering antidepressants versus maintenance antidepressant treatment on affect fluctuations and individual affect networks and impact on relapse: a secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial. EClinicalMedicine, 66, Article 102329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102329 [details]
2022
- Borsboom, D., Deserno, M. K., Rhemtulla, M., Epskamp, S., Fried, E. I., McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Perugini, M., Dalege, J., Constantini, G., Isvoranu, A. M., Wysocki, A. C., van Borkulo, C. D., van Bork, R., & Waldorp, L. J. (2022). Author Correction: Network analysis of multivariate data in psychological science: (Nature Reviews Methods Primers, (2021), 1, 1, (58), 10.1038/s43586-021-00055-w). Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 2(1), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-022-00101-1
- Deserno, M. K., Isvoranu, A.-M., Epskamp, S., & Blanken, T. F. (2022). Descriptive Analysis of Network Structures. In A.-M. Isvoranu, S. Epskamp, L. Waldorp, & D. Borsboom (Eds.), Network Psychometrics with R: A Guide for Behavioral and Social Scientists (pp. 45-65). (Research methods and statistics). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003111238-4 [details]
- Kievit, R. A., McCormick, E. M., Fuhrmann, D., Deserno, M. K., & Orben, A. (2022). Using large, publicly available data sets to study adolescent development: opportunities and challenges. Current Opinion in Psychology, 44, 303-308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.10.003 [details]
2021
- Agelink van Rentergem, J. A., Deserno, M. K., & Geurts, H. M. (2021). Validation strategies for subtypes in psychiatry: A systematic review of research on autism spectrum disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 87, Article 102033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102033 [details]
- Blanken, T. F., Bathelt, J., Deserno, M. K., Voge, L., Borsboom, D., & Douw, L. (2021). Connecting brain and behavior in clinical neuroscience: A network approach. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 130, 81-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.027 [details]
- Borsboom, D., Deserno, M. K., Rhemtulla, M., Epskamp, S., Fried, E. I., McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Perugini, M., Dalege, J., Costantini, G., Isvoranu, A.-M., Wysocki, A. C., van Borkulo, C. D., van Bork, R., & Waldorp, L. J. (2021). Network analysis of multivariate data in psychological science. Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 1, Article 58. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-021-00055-w [details]
- van der Wal, J., van Borkulo, C. D., Deserno, M. K., Breedvelt, J. J. F., Lees, M., Lokman, J. C., Borsboom, D., Denys, D., van Holst, R. J., Smidt, M. P., Stronks, K., Lucassen, P. J., van Weert, J. C. M., Sloot, P. M. A., Bockting, C. L., & Wiers, R. W. (2021). Advancing urban mental health research: from complexity science to actionable targets for intervention. The Lancet. Psychiatry, 8(11), 991-1000. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00047-X [details]
2020
- Deserno, M. K., Borsboom, D., Begeer, S., van Bork, R., Hinne, M., & Geurts, H. M. (2020). Highways to happiness for autistic adults? Perceived causal relations among clinicians. PLoS ONE, 15(12), Article e0243298. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243298 [details]
- Hirota, T., Deserno, M., & McElroy, E. (2020). The Network Structure of Irritability and Aggression in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(4), 1210-1220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04354-w [details]
- van Heijst, B. F. C., Deserno, M. K., Rhebergen, D., & Geurts, H. M. (2020). Autism and depression are connected: A report of two complimentary network studies. Autism, 24(3), 680-692. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361319872373 [details]
2019
- Deserno, M. K., Borsboom, D., Begeer, S., Agelink van Rentergem, J. A., Mataw, K., & Geurts, H. M. (2019). Sleep determines quality of life in autistic adults: A longitudinal study. Autism Research, 12(5), 794-801. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2103 [details]
- Letina, S., Blanken, T. F., Deserno, M. K., & Borsboom, D. (2019). Expanding Network Analysis Tools in Psychological Networks: Minimal Spanning Trees, Participation Coefficients, and Motif Analysis Applied to a Network of 26 Psychological Attributes. Complexity, 2019, Article 9424605. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9424605 [details]
- Roestorf, A., Bowler, D. M., Deserno, M. K., Howlin, P., Klinger, L., McConachie, H., Parr, J. R., Powell, P., Van Heijst, B. F. C., & Geurts, H. M. (2019). “Older Adults with ASD: The Consequences of Aging.” Insights from a series of special interest group meetings held at the International Society for Autism Research 2016–2017. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 63, 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2018.08.007 [details]
2018
- Blanken, T. F., Deserno, M. K., Dalege, J., Borsboom, D., Blanken, P., Kerkhof, G. A., & Cramer, A. O. J. (2018). The role of stabilizing and communicating symptoms given overlapping communities in psychopathology networks. Scientific Reports, 8, Article 5854. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24224-2 [details]
- Deserno, M. K., Borsboom, D., Begeer, S., & Geurts, H. M. (2018). Relating ASD symptoms to well-being: moving across different construct levels. Psychological Medicine, 48(7), 1179-1189. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717002616 [details]
2017
- Armour, C., Fried, E. I., Deserno, M. K., Tsai, J., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2017). A Network Analysis of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and clinically relevant correlates in a national sample of U.S. military veterans. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 45, 49-59. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.11.008 [details]
- Deserno, M. K., Borsboom, D., Begeer, S., & Geurts, H. M. (2017). Multicausal systems ask for multicausal approaches: A network perspective on subjective well-being in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 21(8), 960-971. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316660309 [details]
- Lunansky, G., Nuijten, M., Deserno, M., Cramer, A., & Borsboom, D. (2017). Psychologische stoornissen als complexe netwerken: Een symptoom komt nooit alleen. In E. H. M. Eurelings-Bontekoe, R. Verheul, & W. M. Snellen (Eds.), Handboek Persoonlijkheidspathologie: Voor opleiding, onderzoek en klinische praktijk (3e ed., pp. 245-266). Bohn Stafleu van Loghum. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-368-0931-3_12 [details]
2016
- Nuijten, M. B., Deserno, M. K., Cramer, A. O. J., & Borsboom, D. (2016). Mental disorders as complex networks: An introduction and overview of a network approach to psychopathology. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 13(4/5), 68-76. http://www.clinicalneuropsychiatry.org/pdf/borsbooml.pdf [details]
2015
- Aarts, A. A., et al., U., Borsboom, D., Columbus, S., den Bezemer, B., Deserno, M. K., Epskamp, S., Jonas, K., Kleinberg, B., Kossakowski, J. J., Kunkels, Y. K., Rahal, R.-M., Sahin, O., Skorinko, J. L. M., Tio, P., van Bork, R., van den Bergh, D., van Renswoude, D. R., van Doorn, J., & Wagenmakers, E.-J. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349(6251), 943. Article aac4716. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac4716 [details]
- McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Wu, G. W. Y., Wang, L., Deserno, M. K., & Borsboom, D. (2015). Mental disorders as causal systems: A network approach to posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychological Science, 3(6), 836-849. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702614553230 [details]
2022
- Borsboom, D., Deserno, M. K., Rhemtulla, M., Epskamp, S., Fried, E. I., McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Perugini, M., Dalege, J., Costantini, G., Isvoranu, A.-M., Wysocki, A. C., van Borkulo, C. D., van Bork, R., & Waldorp, L. J. (2022). Reply to ‘Critiques of network analysis of multivariate data in psychological science’. Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 2, Article 91. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-022-00178-8 [details]
2015
- Tio, P., Renkewitz, F., Bell, R., Selterman, D., Thomas, S. L., Martinez, T., Voracek, M., Van Doorn, J., Ostkamp, L., Galak, J., Pipitone, R. ., Epskamp, S., Hodsoll, J., Axt, J., Van Rijn, H., Bartmess, E., Strohminger, N., Beyan, L., Hung, C. O.-Y., … Scholz, S. (1-1-2015). Data from: Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Singapore Management University. https://doi.org/10.25440/smu.12062757.v1
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Ancillary activities
No ancillary activities
Rahbari, L., Kramer, D., Deserno, M., Tse, T., & Matos, T. R. (2025). Activism and academia: An interdisciplinary dialogue on academic freedom and social engagement. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 47(1), 73-89.