Jessie completed her Master in Psychology at KU Leuven in 2002, including an Erasmus stay at the University of Nijmegen. She obtained a European Diploma in Advanced Studies in the Psychology of Religion in 2003 (KU Leuven), and her Ph.D in Psychology in 2010 (KU Leuven). She was a post-doctoral fellow of the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO fellow) and joined the lab of Prof. DeLongis at University British Columbia – Canada (3 months, 2013) and the lab of Prof. Granqvist at Stockholm University – Sweden (6 months, 2015). Her research has been recognized with the Margaret Gorman Early Career Award of the APA and the Early Career Award of the International Association for the Psychology of Religion. She has been Associate Editor for the Archive for the Psychology of Religion.

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Her current research lines focus on how meaningfulness is related to late life psychological functioning and mental health, how existential givens are experienced at highly advanced age and whether and how existential struggles are related to psychological suffering. She is an advocate for a biopsychosocial-existential approach to elderly care.

Jessie is a first-generation college student.