Tjitske Anke Boonstra, PhD, is a human movement scientist who studies motor control in healthy subjects and neurological patients. She is specifically interested in developing and evaluating innovative methods to create more insight into the pathophysiology of gait and balance disturbances in Parkinson’s patients, with the ultimate goal to improve current treatment options.

During her PhD research, Dr. Boonstra gained in-depth knowledge of gait and balance problems in PD patients by developing innovative methods and conducting balance experiments. She was supervised by Prof. Herman van der Kooij and Prof. Bastiaan Bloem.

During her post-doctoral research, she has been further investigating balance control in Parkinson’s disease, supported by a grant of the Dutch Parkinson’s Disease Patient Association. By collaborating with her colleague Dr. Edwin van Asseldonk, she evaluates the effects of applying non-invasive stimulation over the brain on gait in healthy volunteers and stroke survivors.