I started with the Bachelor’s program of Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Leiden University in 2011. My interest soon veered towards the molecular mechanisms behind chemical-biological interactions. At the department of Medicinal Chemistry, I performed my first internship as part of my studies during which I investigated the influence of ions on metabotropic glutamate receptor type 2 signaling.

Following my Bachelor’s degree, I continued with the research-oriented Master’s program of Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2015. For nine months, I performed an internship at the department of Medicinal Chemistry. Here, I characterized a novel radiolabeled tool compound to study the concept of drug-target binding kinetics for the cannabinoid receptor type 2. A second internship was performed at Heptares Therapeutics in the United Kingdom for six months. I mainly focused on purification and crystallization of thermostable mutants of the adenosine A2A receptor.

Upon completion of my studies and obtaining my Master’s degree, I decided to continue doing research at the division of Drug Discovery & Safety at Leiden University, at the group of prof. dr. A.P. IJzerman. During my PhD study, I will use novel, label-free methods to investigate the function of transport proteins, in particular the family of solute carrier (SLC) proteins.

Publications