Launch of the Prof. Andrea Evers Fund for Health, Behaviour and Society
New fund image: Simone Both
In memory of Andrea Evers, Professor of Health Psychology, the Prof. Andrea Evers Fund for Health, Behaviour and Society has been established. With this fund, we aim to honour her deepest wish: to continue research that contributes to health, well-being, and a resilient society.
The Prof. Andrea Evers Fund does not mark the end of a mission, but rather the beginning of a new phase — a phase of building, innovating, and connecting in the spirit of Andrea’s work.
Mission of the Fund
The Prof. Andrea Evers Fund supports projects that:
- combine innovative, interdisciplinary research with societal relevance;
- translate scientific insights into practical solutions for health and behaviour;
- contribute to sustainable improvements in people’s well‑being.
With these aims, the fund gives concrete expression to the values and ambitions that Andrea Evers embodied throughout her career.
Call for proposals
On 26 January, a call for proposals was issued. Researchers from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Leiden University are invited to submit project ideas, together with a collaboration partner, that align with the mission of the fund. Think of a collaboration partner as:
- another faculty or research institute within Leiden University (other than the main applicant);
- a societal, clinical, or policy organisation; or
- a knowledge or innovation hub (e.g., Health Campus The Hague or Leiden Bio Science Park).
Projects will be evaluated on scientific quality and innovativeness; relevance for health, well‑being, and resilience; and the degree of collaboration and interdisciplinarity.
About the legacy of Andrea Evers
Andrea Evers, Professor of Health Psychology, has had a profound and lasting impact on science. She was internationally recognized for her pioneering research on placebo and nocebo effects, demonstrating how expectations, beliefs, and communication can directly influence physical health and the course of illness. She championed intensive collaboration across disciplines — from psychology and medicine to neuroscience and policy. Her work was not only academically significant but also deeply human: she believed in research that genuinely helps people, that brings sectors together, and that contributes to healthier lives. The fund carries forward this mission and ensures that her impact lives on in new generations of researchers and projects.
