Cato Leenders is a researcher and engineer pursuing a Baekeland PhD in collaboration between KU Leuven and BioRICS NV. Her doctoral work focuses on automated emotion recognition via wearable technology, integrating physiological data analysis with real-time algorithms to better understand human performance and wellbeing.

At BioRICS, a company specialized in individualized, real-time monitoring algorithms for high-performance domains such as elite sports and defense, Cato serves as Project Lead for military applications. In this role, she bridges academic research and applied innovation, developing data-driven systems that enhance resilience, performance, and safety in demanding environments.