About
Introduction
After having obtained my PhD degree at Erasmus MC, I worked as a postdoc in the labs of Dr. Ben Barres at Stanford University, USA and Dr. Bart de Strooper at KUL/VIB in Leuven, Belgium. Currently, I am employed as a researcher at the Clinical Genetics department at Erasmus MC. The main goal of my research is the identification and functional characterization of genetic mutations in heritable forms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other movement disorders. This work is done in close collaboration with Prof. Vincenzo Bonifati. Our lab uses patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) that are differentiated into various brain cell types as a model system to study PD. We hope that our work on PD will help gain more insight into the molecular mechanisms that lead to pathology in PD.
Field(s) of expertise
Parkinson's disease/Movement Disorders
Education and career
- PhD: Cell Biology and Genetics dept. Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
- Postdoc: Ben Barres lab, Neurobiology Dept. Stanford University, USA.
- Postdoc: Bart de Strooper lab, KUL/VIB Leuven, Belgium.
- Staff Scientist: Vincenzo Bonifati lab, Clinical Genetics department, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Publications
A complete overview of publications can be found here:
Other positions
Parkinsonism & Related Disorders - Editorial Board
Scholarships, grants, and awards
- 2001 - 2002: TALENT-stipend, NWO.
- 2002 - 2004: Postdoctoral fellowship - National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), USA.
- 2006 - 2007: Visiting postdoctoral fellowship, FWO, Belgium
- 2007 - 2009: Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship - European Commission Research.
- 2014 - 2018: MRace grant Erasmus MC.
- 2015 - present: Research support from Stichting ParkinsonFonds, Nederland.
