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Researcher

G.M. (Geeske) van Woerden, Associate Professor

Principle Investigator

  • Department
  • Clinical Genetics
  • Focus area
  • Neurodevelopmental disorders, CAMK2, Multi-electrode array, iPSC, Mouse models, Functional genomics screens.
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About G.M. (Geeske) van Woerden, Associate Professor

Introduction

Dr. Geeske M. van Woerden leads a research group investigating the role of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CAMK2) in neural development and neurodevelopmental disorders. Her work spans molecular biology, electrophysiology and stem‐cell modelling, and she has published extensively on CAMK2 signalling, synaptic plasticity and genotype–phenotype correlations in neurogenetic conditions. She also integrates functional genomics platforms to evaluate mutation pathogenicity in neurodevelopmental disorders, combining clinical genetics and neuroscience to translate basic research into potential therapeutic insights. Van Woerden has important collaborations with clinicians within ENCORE (Dr. Danielle Veenma, who is leading the CAMK2-GRI expertise center), allowing to bridge the gap from bench to bedside.

Field(s) of expertise

My lab centers on understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders, with a particular emphasis on calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) signaling. I investigate how disruptions in CaMKII function contribute to altered neuronal connectivity, synaptic plasticity, and cognitive deficits associated with genetic brain disorders.

Our work combines molecular and cellular neuroscience with advanced techniques such as electrophysiology, stem cell–derived neuronal models, and functional genomics. We aim to bridge the gap between gene discovery and functional understanding, developing experimental models that clarify how specific mutations affect neuronal function and identifying potential therapeutic targets.

Education and career

After obtaining her Doctorate in Medicine in 2003, Van Woerden did her PhD in the lab of Prof. Ype Elgersma. During her PhD, van Woerden focused on CAMK2 in learning, plasticity and disease, generating and characterizing many mouse models.
She continued doing a Postdoc in the lab of Alberto Bacci (first in Rome, then in Paris), where she learned electrophysiology (whole cell platch clamp). When she obtained the Erasmus MC Fellowship and the ENW-Veni, she returned to Rotterdam to start her own research line. She then got the chance to start her own research group when in 2018 she obtained the ENW-Veni.  

Publications

Pubmed

Teaching activities

Van Woerden supervised 4 PhD students until now and is currently supervising 4 additional PhD students.
Additionally, van Woerden is the coordinator and teacher of Anatomy for Medical students and is teaching several other courses.

Other positions

  • Member of the Talent Innovation Counsel

  • Member of the Medical and Scientific Advisary Board of the CAMK2 Therapeutics Network 

  • Member of the Examination Board, Chamber Medicine, Bachelorsection

  • Ambassador for Gender and Sexual Diversity

  • Member of the MT Research at the dept of Clinical Genetics

  • Head of the Anatomy Dissection room

Scholarships, grants, and awards

Erasmus MC Fellowship 2012

Veni 2013

Vidi 2018

Hersenstichting 2023

Dioraphte 2024

Recent Findings 

Another link to an external profile

Functional genomics

My Groups

Advancing targeted treatments for rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders

Our research is focused on: (1) diagnosing, (2) unraveling the molecular mechanisms, and (3) developing targeted treatments for rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders.

Related

Departments and research centers

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Clinical genetics

Research groups/labs

Advancing targeted treatments for rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders