BIO
My name is Dr. Rutger Engels, and I am an award-winning full professor in Developmental Psychopathology at Erasmus University Rotterdam and a board member of the venture philanthropy organization De Verre Bergen. I am the co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Orfeo Health, a San Francisco-based mental health start-up currently in stealth mode, and a co-founder and executive at a specialized mental health care clinic in the Netherlands (Senz, set to open in Q1 2025).
I received my MA in Psychology at the University of Groningen and my Ph.D. at the Faculty of Medicine at Maastricht University, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Utrecht University. In 2001, I was appointed a professor in Nijmegen, becoming one of the youngest full professors in the country at that time. From 2014 to 2018, I served as CEO of the Trimbos Institute, the National Institute for Mental Health and Addictions, and as a distinguished professor in Developmental Psychopathology at Utrecht University.
From 2018 to 2021, I was Rector Magnificus (equivalent to president in the US system) of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), a top public university in Europe consistently ranked among the top 100 globally in terms of research excellence and program quality. From 2021 to 2023, I served as Chief Science Officer at Zylorion, a Canadian start-up focused on psychedelic treatments.
PASSION
My research, both fundamental and applied, centers on mental health and substance use in adolescents and adults. I have published extensively in top-ranking journals in the fields of Addiction, Psychology, Psychiatry, and Public Health, with more than 600 articles to my name and an H-index of 118, making me one of the most cited psychologists worldwide. I have successfully coordinated numerous research projects and mentored over 65 Ph.D. students through to graduation.
My work has been recognized with several national and international grants and awards, including the Huibregtsen Prize, the annual national award from the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences for research with significant societal impact, as well as two national career awards.
In recent decades, I have led programs to design, test, and implement (including technology-enabled) interventions in mental health, addictions, resiliency, and personal growth. I am a strong advocate of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) and have contributed to strategic transformations in various organizations. I have collaborated with national governments.
Additionally, I have led a WHO Collaborating Center on Mental Health.
