About Raquel

Raquel van Gool is a researcher and PhD Candidate at the department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and School for Mental Health and Neuroscience at Maastricht university of the Netherlands. She has always been interested in the network spindles of the mind and already knew from an early age that she wanted to study Psychology. She pursued a bachelor's degree in Psychology and minor in Clinical Psychology then continued into this field with a Research Master's programme in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience at Maastricht University, during which she worked for several months with Boston Children’s Hospital researching neuropathic conditions and lysosomal storage diseases.

Raquel’s current work focuses on the characterization of neurological manifestations of lysosomal storage diseases, particularly in Pompe Disease and Niemann-Pick disease Type C, as member of Dr. Jaymin Upadhyay’s research team. Her research focus is on how neurological correlates, as seen with various neuroimaging modalities, are related to symptom severity in different domains of patients with lysosomal storage diseases.

With a background in psychology, neuroscience and consulting, Raquel aims to make scientific knowledge accessible across all levels of society. She therefore brings an interesting blend of expertise as an evidence-based instructor at Trainstation On Demand. Her course on the neuroscience behind learning and memory will soon be available.

Her drive behind her academic achievements has been her aspiration to make a change, both in her personal life and career. This is why she has volunteered for several humanitarian relief projects in the past. In 2018 she participated in the local national pageant, as well as the international pageant of Miss Asia Pacific International in the Philippines where she placed 4th RU, in search of a platform to reach a wider audience. It was through this journey that she realized how fortunate she was to have access to education at world class universities. Raquel believes everyone deserves a shot at good education and she therefore advocated for global access to not only education, but also science and technology, during her participation.