M.Z. (Milan) Zarchev, PhD

I am a postdoctoral researcher with a dual appointment at the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology at Erasmus MC. My research explores the impact of stressors and adversity across the lifespan—from pregnancy through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. I primarily focus on exposure to chronic childhood stress caused by maltreatment or traumatic events, examining how these experiences manifest in emotional and behavioral symptoms. More recently, I have expanded my work to investigate biological stressors, such as maternal inflammation during pregnancy and its effects on brain development. My ultimate goal is to bridge adversity research with causal inference methods, ensuring that findings can inform policies aimed at supporting vulnerable populations. 

My research spans clinical psychiatric cohorts and large general population studies, as well as nationwide naturalistic data encompassing all residents of Sweden and the Netherlands. Across these diverse datasets, I apply rigorous methodological analyses to answer substantive questions of interest to psychiatry. 

I obtained my PhD in the Erasmus MC in 2025.

View my publications here.