Barbara Franke is an internationally leading scientists in the field of biological psychiatry and a member of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences in The Netherlands. Barbara is a molecular biologist and geneticist by training. She studies the biological contribution to neurodevelopmental conditions and co-occurring mental and somatic problems in children and adults. Her particular interest is the study of the biology of ADHD. She is part of and co-leads international consortia performing genetic studies of ADHD and studying brain alterations observed in ADHD. It is her goal to make biological information useful for improving the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of psychiatric conditions and to contribute to how we conceptualize those conditions.​