Sanne Franzen is a neuropsychologist and researcher, working at the department of Neurology and at the Alzheimer Center of the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam. She specializes in cross-cultural neuropsychological assessment and has additional interests in accessible community (psycho)education programs and DEI.
Ms. Franzen received her education at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, completing her bachelor’s in Psychology and master’s degree in Neuropsychology at Utrecht University. After graduation, she was appointed as a neuropsychologist (2015) and combined this position with contributions to research projects, such as the FTD-RisC project on genetic frontotemporal dementia and being a rater in Alzheimer´s disease clinical trials. The opening of the new multicultural memory clinic at the Erasmus MC in late 2015 accelerated her career in research. In 2017, together with her colleague Janne Papma, PhD, she obtained a large governmental grant. This grant allowed the research team to continue and expand their efforts in the multicultural memory clinic through the TULIPA study. She received additional funding to implement a community education program for immigrants about healthy aging (2016 and 2019). In late 2017 ms. Franzen started writing her doctoral dissertation, which she formally completed in 2022. In 2022, she received the Early Career Award of the Dutch Association for Neuropsychologists for her contributions to the field of neuropsychology. Between 2022-2024, she completed a clinical licensing program (BIG registratie GZ-psycholoog), which included training as a cognitive behavioral therapist. Currently, she is combining her clinical work in the department of psychiatry with her postdoctoral studies into dementia prevention in diverse populations and assessment tools for diverse populations.
Ms. Franzen served as a commission member of the Cultural Diversity & Psychology Commission of the Dutch Association of Psychologists (NIP, 2019-2021) and Executive Committee member of the Diversity and Disparities PIA of the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART 2020-2022). She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Neuropsychological Society (INS).
Disclosures
Ms. Franzen has served as a consultant to Biogen (2022) on the topic of cross-cultural neuropsychological assessment (fee paid to her organization). She receives royalties on the Dutch version of the Five Digit Test and the modified Visual Association Test. She has also received honoraria for speaking at international conferences and providing lectures.