In 2020, I received my BSc degree in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at the Eindhoven University of Technology. I finished my bachelor’s in the group of prof. dr. Albert P.H.J. Schenning, working on reversible photoresponsive waterborne coatings. The polymeric coatings contained light-responsive azobenzene enabling reversible isomerization which influenced the water-barrier properties. In 2021, I joined the group of prof. dr. Bert Meijer in collaboration with prof. dr. ir. Anja Palmans, where I synthesized and analyzed trifunctional BTA molecules which assemble into supramolecular polymers, to elucidate the role of multivalency in cellular environments. I finished my master by joining the pharmaceutical company Novartis in Basel (Switzerland), working on small molecule synthesis and analysis in the drug discovery labs. In April 2022, I continued to collaborate with Anja Palmans and started work as PhD student in group of prof. dr. Patricia Y.W. Dankers. In my research, I combine the polymeric nanoparticle design from the Palmans group with the knowledge on synthetic biomaterials based on UPy-molecules developed in the Dankers group. With this, I aim to synthesize and assemble synthetic ECM materials combining covalent and supramolecular interactions. These ECM materials will be investigated in cellular environments and are designed to show dynamic reciprocity in aqueous media.
Synthetic extra-cellular matrix
