Personal profile
Research profile
I studied Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSc) and Chemistry (MSc) at Leiden University. During my PhD (2016-2020) with Prof. Dr. Sander van Kasteren and Prof. Dr. Herman Overkleeft, I worked on trans-cyclooctene/tetrazine ‘click to release’ bioorthogonal deprotection chemistry, specifically concerning the development of new synthetic strategies and applications of this method towards chemical immunology.
After completing my PhD, I moved to Berlin (2021-2024) to join the group of Prof. Dr. Christian Hackenberger at the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP) as a postdoctoral researcher. My research in Berlin received funding from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation and was aimed at developing site-specific protein modification chemistry and exploring new fundamental concepts of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
At present, I am an NWO Veni Fellow at the TU Delft (2025 – ongoing). The aim of my project is to develop new deprotection chemistry for targeted drug release, where ionizing radiation is the trigger. I am investigating new strategies with enhanced sensitivity towards ionizing radiation, in addition to applications for prodrugs and ADCs.