STICHTING KARAKTER

Their core work

Karakter is a Dutch clinical center for child and adolescent psychiatry, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and related externalizing behavioral conditions. Their EU research participation reflects their clinical mission: they contribute real-world patient populations, clinical expertise, and behavioral assessment capabilities to multinational research consortia. In the MiND project, they supported training of early-stage researchers in ADHD and ASD. In Eat2beNICE, they brought clinical knowledge of impulsivity and compulsivity to a large consortium investigating how diet, gut microbiome, and genetics shape these behaviors.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the earlier phase (MiND, 2015–2018), Karakter's EU engagement was focused on neurodevelopmental training — supporting doctoral education in ADHD and ASD through an MSCA network, with no detailed thematic keywords recorded, suggesting a supporting clinical role. By the later phase (Eat2beNICE, 2017–2023), their profile becomes significantly richer: keywords shift toward biological mechanisms — microbiome, gut-brain axis, genetics, epigenetics — alongside behavioral constructs like impulsivity and compulsivity. This indicates a deliberate move from purely clinical participation toward integrative biobehavioral research connecting nutrition science, neuroscience, and psychiatry.

Karakter is evolving from a clinical support partner in neurodevelopmental research toward a more scientifically integrated contributor at the intersection of nutritional psychiatry, microbiome science, and behavioral genetics — making them increasingly relevant for consortia bridging food science and mental health.

How they like to work

Karakter participates exclusively as a consortium partner and has never led an H2020 project, which fits the profile of a clinical institution contributing specialized patient access, assessment expertise, and clinical validation rather than coordinating large research programs. Their two projects span different funding schemes (MSCA ITN and RIA), suggesting they are comfortable in varied consortium structures. With 35 unique partners across 11 countries from just 2 projects, they operate within large international consortia rather than small bilateral collaborations.

Karakter has built connections with 35 unique partner organizations across 11 countries through just two projects, reflecting participation in broad, multi-institutional European consortia. Their network spans both research-training networks (MSCA) and large collaborative research (RIA), indicating links to both academic and clinical institutions across Europe.

What sets them apart

Karakter is one of the few clinical child and adolescent psychiatry centers to participate directly in EU-funded research linking nutritional science and the gut-brain axis to ADHD and related behavioral disorders — a combination rarely found in a single organization. While universities dominate these consortia, Karakter brings direct patient-facing clinical infrastructure, making them a valuable partner for any project needing real-world behavioral assessment or clinical validation in pediatric psychiatric populations. Their location in the Netherlands, with its strong tradition of ADHD research and open science culture, adds further credibility.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Eat2beNICE
  The largest and most thematically ambitious of their two projects (EUR 1.03M, 2017–2023), it placed Karakter at the intersection of nutritional psychiatry, microbiome science, and behavioral genetics — a highly interdisciplinary space with growing commercial relevance in food and health.
• MiND
  As an MSCA Innovative Training Network on ADHD and autism, this project signals that Karakter has the institutional standing to host or co-supervise doctoral researchers, making them a credible academic training partner beyond pure clinical work.