Elien is a qualified speech pathologist and audiologist with a PhD in Educational Sciences from KU Leuven. Her PhD focused on the early development and stimulation of mathematical abilities. As a postdoctoral researcher at Curtin University, she worked on an MRFF funded project investigating risk and protective factors of mental health in the transition to high school among children with language and literacy difficulties. In her new postdoc position at Maastricht University, she will work on the EPoSS-project that investigates Early Predictors of School Success, with a focus on the link between mental health and learning outcomes.

Her research interests include early childhood education, early mathematical development, learning difficulties and their impact on mental health.