About
I am an interdisciplinary scientist interested in biology as a dynamic process. I am a strong supporter of theory-driven research, and I am passionate about the use of statistical and synthesis techniques to reduce animal experimentation. Currently, I use a combination of wet and dry lab techniques to investigate in rodents how stress in early life affects the connectivity between brain areas, ultimately leading to changes in behavior. To me, Science can only be Open.
Download a one-page CV here.
Research experience
Prior to my PhD, I have been involved in several research projects on the general topic of “stress”. I have gained experience in in vivo as well as in vitro applied research. Ultimately, I became more interested in analysis and modelling, and I further specialized in meta-research, bioinformatics and Bayesian statistics.
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| Position | Supervisor | Affiliation | Brief description | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhD candidate | Prof. dr. Joëls & Prof. Hoijtink | UMC Utrecht Brain Center & Dept. Methodology & Statistics Utrecht University (NL) | Combination of wet and dry lab techniques to give a global overview on the effects of stress on the brain | Sep 2017 - present |
| Master Internship | Prof. dr. Walker | University of Edinburgh (UK) | In vitro and in vivo experiments to investigate glucocorticoids’ delivery to tissues | Feb 2017 - July 2017 |
| Master Internship | Dr. Sarabdjitsingh (lab Joëls) | Brain Center Rudolf Magnus (NL) | Stress receptors and HPA axis reactivity in rodent model | Nov 2015 - Nov 2016 |
| Bachelor thesis | Dr. de Graaff | Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis (NL) | Music intervention to prevent emergence delirium in children after anaesthesia | July 2014 - May 2015 |
| Bachelor Internship | Dr. van Campen (lab Joëls) | Brain Center Rudolf Magnus (NL) | Quantification with Neurolucida of neuronal spine density in a mouse model of epilepsy | Aug 2013 - March 2014 |
Education
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| Degree | University | Additional activities | Grade | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhD candidate | UMC Utrecht Brain Center & Dept. Methodology & Statistics Utrecht University (NL) | PhD representative (2017-present), PhD council (2018-2019) | Sep 2017 - present | |
| Master Neuroscience and Cognition | Utrecht University (NL) | Chief student Journal Neuroscience & Cognition (2015-2016), selected member Excellence Programme U/Select, Master students’ representative (2015-2017) | cum laude | Sep 2015 - August 2017 |
| Bachelor of Science (minor Psychology and Statistics) | University College Utrecht (Liberal Arts and Sciences, NL) | Chair committee MusicCo (2013-2015) | cum laude | Sep 2012 - July 2017 |
| Diploma Piano performance | Conservatorium Alessandria (IT) | Also student at conservatorium Vicenza, musical institute ‘Puccini’ (Gallarate, IT), international academy ‘Cortot’ (IT), masterclasses at ‘Santa Cecilia’ (IT) and ‘Braine l’Alleaud’ (BE) | 9.5/10 | Sep 2006 - Feb 2016 |
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In depth courses
- Teaching Neuroscience (UMC Brain Center, 2021)
- Advanced Omics for Life Sciences (CS&D, Nov 2020)
- Individual participant data meta-analyses (Julius Center, June 2020)
- Differential equations (MOOC, 2020)
- Neurobiology of stress and resilience (NSAS, August 2018)
- Writing reproducible code (UU, Dec 2019)
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of preclinical animal studies (Radboud UMC, May 2019)
- This thing called Science (Jan-Dec 2018)
Honors and Awards
As of June 2021, I have received 6 awards at conferences, 1 award at a PhD competition in Pharmachology and 2 scholarships for internships.
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| Award | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| Best oral presentation | Translational Neuroscience Day (NL) | 2019 |
| Best oral presentation | ONWAR PhD symposium (NL) | 2019 |
| Best poster | Dutch Neuroscience Meeting (NL) | 2018 |
| 2nd prize | FIGON - PhD competition in pharmachology (NL) | 2019 |
| Travel grant | S4 - Small Sample Size Solutions (NL, postponed) | 2020 |
| Travel grant | ECNP - European College of Neuropsychopharmachology (FR, cancelled) | 2020 |
| Travel grant | EBBS - European Brain Behaviour Society (CZ) | 2019 |
| scholarships | For master internships (cumulative, 4500e) | 2019 |
Presentations
As of June 2021, I have presented posters at 10 (inter)national conferences, and I have been invited for oral presentations at 4 (inter)national conferences and at 7 other events.
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| What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation conference invite | O&O Symposium - Research Impact and Open Science (NL) | 2021 |
| Presentation conference invite | Open Science Symposium Utrecht (NL) | 2020 |
| Presentation conference invite | Dutch Neuroscience Meeting (NL) | 2019 |
| Presentation conference invite | Open Science Symposium Utrecht (NL) | 2020 |
| Co-Seminar invite | Dept. Developmental Origins of Disease (NL) | 2021 |
| Seminar invite | Social Lab (NL) | 2021 |
| Seminar invite | Laboratory Animal Workers Meeting (UMC, NL) | 2021 |
| Seminar invite | SYRCLE (NL) | 2021 |
| Seminar invite | Consortium Individual Development Spotlight (NL) | 2020 |
| Seminar invite | Lucassen Lab (NL) | 2019 |
| Seminar invite | Kemner Lab (NL) | 2018 |
| Poster | Equator (DE) | 2020 |
| Poster | Winter Stress conference (DE) | 2019 |
| Poster | FENS Forum (DE) | 2016-2018 |
| Poster | Dutch Neuroscience Meeting (NL) | 2016-2018 |
| Poster | Science for Life (NL) | 2017 |
| Poster | Translational Neuroscience Symposium (NL) | 2016 - 2017 |
| Poster | Cardiovascular Symposium (UK) | 2017 |
| Masterclass | With Prof. Dr. Baram | 2019 |
Teaching
During my PhD, I have supervised 6 (+3 co-supervision) students for internship/theses. I have given several lectures in Bachelor and Master Neuroscience and Ethics courses, developed biology course material, and supervised students during practicals (small-group teaching). Currently, I am working towards a teaching qualification for higher education (BKO, Basiskwalificatie Onderwijs).
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| What | Topic | University | Course | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | Development stress-nl database | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL) | Master Internship 7 months | 2020 |
| Supervision | Heterogeneity in meta-analysis | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL) | Master Thesis 2 months | 2020 |
| Supervision | Early life adversity and immediate early genes | Utrecht University (NL) | Master Thesis 2 months | 2020 |
| Supervision | GABA switch | Utrecht University (NL) | Master Thesis 2 months | 2020 |
| Supervision | Development whole-brain temporal analysis | Utrecht University (NL) | Master Internship 9 months | 2019 |
| Supervision | Early life adversity and GABA | University College Utrecht (NL) | Bachelor Thesis 5 months | 2019 |
| Supervision | Sex-dependent behavior and early life adversity | University College Utrecht (NL) | Bachelor Thesis 5 months | 2018 |
| Co-supervision | 3x | Utrecht University (NL) | Master Theses | 2017-2019 |
| Lecture | The mouse brain after foot-shock | Leiden University (NL) | Master course Neuroscience | 2021 |
| Lecture | Methods in stress research | University College Utrecht (NL) | Bachelor course Cognitive Neuroscience | 2021 |
| Lecture | Methods in stress research | University College Amsterdam (NL) | Bachelor course Stress research | 2019-2020 |
| Lecture | Integrity and Data analysis | Utrecht University (NL) | Master course Fundamentals of Neuroscience | 2020 |
| Lecture | Methods in animal research | University College Utrecht (NL) | Bachelor course Cognitive Neuroscience | 2019-2020 |
| Lecture | What is Science | Utrecht University (NL) | Master course Fundamentals of Neuroscience | 2019 |
| Lecture | Meta-research | Utrecht University (NL) | Master course Fundamentals of Neuroscience | 2018 |
| Practical | Layman communication | Utrecht University (NL) | Bachelor course Biology | 2017-2020 |
| Practical | Microscopy | Utrecht University (NL) | Master course Fundamentals of Neuroscience | 2017-2020 |
| Practical | Online Neuroscience Resources | Utrecht University (NL) | Master course Fundamentals of Neuroscience | 2017-2020 |
| Practical | Microscopy | Utrecht University (NL) | Bachelor course Advanced Neuroscience | 2019 |
Reviewing
As of June 2021, I have reviewed manuscripts for Hormones and Behavior, PlosOne, Scientific reports and Proceedings B.