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Institute of Biology Leiden

The Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) is an internationally oriented institute for research and education in biology. We are part of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University.

Our aim is to perform top quality innovative fundamental and strategic research that will lead to scientific progress, contribute to solutions for societal challenges, and generate industrial opportunities, reflected in our general theme ‘Harnessing Biodiversity for Health’.

• Animal Sciences
• Plant Sciences
• Microbial Sciences

• 17 Apr PhD defence Genomics applications of Nanopore long-read sequencing for small to large sized genomes M. Liem
• 23 Apr PhD defence The developing infant gut microbiota: mathematical predictions of the effects of oligosaccharides D.M. Versluis
• 25 Apr Lecture LED3 Lecture: Probing the human proteome for therapeutic opportunities Prof. Cheryl Arrowsmith (University of Toronto, CAN)

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Getting your PhD at the UvA

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This PDF brings together all kinds of information about the PhD process, from the regulations and different steps in the process to terms of employment and facilities you can make use of as a PhD candidate.

Doctoral programme: from admission to completion

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The PhD Programme

The PhD programme Cancer Stem cells & Developmental biology focuses on understanding processes underlying cancer and developmental biology using techniques and applications of post-genomic research, including microarray analysis, next generation sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics and advanced microscopy techniques. Students in this programme explore research questions concerning embryonic growth, stem cells, signalling pathways, gene regulation, evolution and development in relation to health and disease using various model systems.

The aim of the programme is to offer research training and education that builds on novel methodology in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics technology applied to biomedical and developmental systems and processes. PhD candidates participate in the research lines of the participating groups, collaborating with their fellow students and postdocs yet at the same time developing their own research project and expertise within the group that should lead to a series of articles and a PhD thesis to be defended in public before an expert committee. Students are encouraged to seek collaborations outside Utrecht and The Netherlands and to attend international workshops and meetings in addition to the course and seminar programme offered by the CS&D Research School. Master's students seeking a PhD position within the research school Cancer Stem cells & Developmental biology are expected to be highly motivated to perform their thesis research in this field, as the school aims to attract the most talented and motivated students in the life sciences from the Netherlands and abroad. Inquiries about available PhD positions should be directed to the CS&D group leaders . 

280 plant-biology-PhD positions in Netherlands

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Scientific Director, Institute of Biology Leiden

Apply now Scientific Director, Institute of Biology Leiden The Faculty of Science is currently seeking a dynamic individual to serve as the Scientific Director of the Institute of Biology Leiden

PhD student in vascular cell biology /immunology

Apply now The Faculty of Science and the Institute for Biology Leiden are looking for an: PhD student in vascular cell biology /immunology Key responsibilities The PhD student will work in close

PhD Candidate in Integrated Modeling for Plant Life -History Traits

dedicated candidates to join our cutting-edge research team as a PhD student to work on modelling plant life -history traits such as flowering time, fertility and seed germination. The position is part of

PhD student in vascular cell biology /immunology PhD student in vascular cell biology /immunology Published Deadline Location today 21 Apr Leiden The Faculty of Science and the Institute for Biology

PhD Position in Control Theory and Machine Learning for Robust and Sustainable Plants Models at CropXR/TU Delft

Systems. With a budget of 96 million Euro over the next decade, CropXR focuses on creating eXtra Resilient (XR), sustainable, and climate-adaptive crops. By combining plant biology , simulation modelling

PhD student position to study telomere maintenance in the research group of Jacqueline Jacobs

4 Apr 2024 Job Information Organisation/Company The Netherlands Cancer Institute Research Field Physics Other Medical sciences Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) First Stage Researcher

Postdoctoral Researcher: Systems Biology of Malaria Gametocytes

Kroon Professor of Plant Ecology and an initiator of the Healthy Landscape Research Consortium Read Hans' story Profile You should hold a PhD in molecular biology , systems biology , parasitology, or a

Technician in vascular cell biology /immunology

Apply now The Faculty of Science and the Institute for Biology Leiden are looking for an: Technician in vascular cell biology /immunology Key responsibilities The analyst will work in close

Assistant Professor in Protein Chemistry

), the Leiden Institute of Biology (IBL) and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) . See for example the Leiden Early Drug Discovery and Development hub . You are expected to contribute to the teaching

Assistant Professor in Protein Design

researchers from the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR ), the Leiden Institute of Biology (IBL) and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) . See for example the Leiden Early Drug Discovery

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Molecular Cell Biology 1st YEAR

This is a crippling disease and thus severely affects the movement apparatus, with progressive heterotopic bone formation. It is caused by a mutation of a Bone Morphogenic Protein (BMP)- receptor. This knowledge is incorporated throughout the course and is reiterated every class. For instance: in terms of hereditary: how does the mutation arise? What consequences does it have at the mRNA level? What is known at the protein level and how does that influence cell-signaling? (dr.ir. T.J. de Vries). Four classes are dedicated to quantitative molecular biology (RNAseq, microarray) and on how to interfere with gene expression making use of cloning techniques and RNA interference (dr. D. Deng). Stem cells, and IPS-cells and their possible use to cure the disease will be dealt with. To make the bridge to the practical, an explanatory class will provide the background knowledge required to do the practical. A special working group is dedicated on reading specialized Molecular Cell Biological literature where the latest insight information on the disease is provided. (dr.ir. T.J. de Vries, T. Schoenmaker). The two-days practical will analyze gene expression from fibroblasts from controls and patients. Findings will be presented in a report that has the format of a small research article.

Prof. dr. TJ de Vries

Course description & study characteristics.

Course Description

This course provides an overview and insight into (1) general aspects of molecular biology, (2) molecular biology in relation to movement (muscles, nerves, bone, tendon), and (3) use of modern molecular biological techniques. 

A general overview of molecular biology will be presented. Topics will be discussed like structure and function of DNA, RNA, siRNA, transcription and translation. In addition interference with gene expression will be discussed (e.g., gene transfection, deletion). Molecular aspects of movement will be discussed with an emphasis on the functioning of muscles, nerves, bones and tendon, as well as other tissues in relation to movement and non-movement. A central issue will be the question how movement or the lack of movement affects the activity and protein expression of the cells associated with these tissues. 

Finally an in-depth insight in modern biological strategies for the analyses of (defects in) the above mentioned molecular aspects of movement and the tissues involved will be presented. 

The following techniques and their applications in cell biology will be highlighted:

• mutation detection, important for understanding effects of genomic mutations on cellular functioning;
• RT-PCR, a breakthrough technique developed in the 1980's, which enables the study of gene expression and its relevance for physiological or pathological processes in minute biological samples;
• DNA-sequencing, DNA-microarrays, transcriptomics and proteomics, elegant and valuable tools for studying gene-variations and gene-expression of a large number of genes in one biological sample;
• RNA interference, a technique of the last decade with which you can inhibit the expression of specific RNA's, used to study the function of different genes;
• Bioinformatics, the development, validation and application of computational techniques to the management, analyses and understanding of biological information.

Ultimate learning objective is to know more about molecular biology and its role in answering movement related research projects.

Study Characteristics

• Discipline: Human Movement Sciences: Sport, Exercise and Health (Research)
• Type of education: Lecture, Practical
• Academic skill: N/A
• Graduate School: N/A
• Start date: TBD
• End date: TBD
• Minimum number of students: N/A
• Maximum number of students: N/A
• Admission criteria: Contact the course coordinator for information on admission criteria: Dr. Ir. T.J. de Vries
• Concluding assessment: N/A
• Assessment type: N/A
• With Certificate: N/A
• Schedule info: Class 1+2: Introduction and DNA and Chromosomes Class 3+4: From DNA to protein, Control of gene regulation Class 5+6: Molecular cloning techniques Class 7+8: Quantitative molecular techniques Class 9+10: Cell signaling Class 11+12: Preparation for the practical. Working group: How to read current Molecular Cell Biological literature on FOP? Practical days 1 and 2.
• Number of lessons: 12 classes plus 2 practical days
• Total course duration in hrs.: N/A
• Sign up period: N/A
• Anticipated hrs of study: N/A
• Available to: PhD students VU (and VU RMA students)

Would you like to register or want to know more?

Please contact the course coordinator prof. dr. T.J. de Vries:

[email protected]

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121 PhD jobs in Netherlands

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• PhD positions in Eindhoven (47)
• PhD positions in Enschede (39)
• PhD positions in Leiden (13)
• PhD positions in Nijmegen (12)
• PhD positions in Amsterdam (5)

Other countries

• PhD positions in Belgium (146)
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• PhD positions in France (48)
• PhD positions in Finland (47)
• PhD positions in Switzerland (43)

Search results (121)

PhD position in IC Design group

Job descriptionPLEASE NOTE: you are required to apply via the "apply now" button below, ánd to fill in an additional questionnaire before via this link before we can process your application.The Un...

PhD-student: Non-Hermitian nano-optomechanical networks and their sensing performance

The Photonic Forces group seeks a motivated and talented PhD student working at the intersection of the fields of nano-optomechanics and topological physics. Nanomechanical resonators are versatile...

PhD student on Numerical modeling of electrical discharges in insulators

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) has a vacancy in the research group on Multiscale Dynamics fora PhD studenton the numerical modeling and investigation of electric discharges within insulators.Job descriptionPartial discharges are a common phe...

PhD position in secure quantum photonic cloud computing

Job descriptionWe are looking for a PhD candidate to work with an international consortium focused on validating the QEnclave concept. The objective is to obfuscate a quantum computation task from ...

PhD position on Calibration in Deep Learning for Zero Downtime in Cyber-Physical Systems

Job descriptionThe vacancy is focused on calibration in deep learning. Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have demonstrated significant predictive capabilities across various domains including computer vi...

PhD position in aerosol research

Are you our new colleague?Are you an ambitious and highly motivated student with a strong interest in aerosol and climate science and experience in the interpretation of atmospheric (satellite) data and climate modeling? Then you are the person we...

PhD student in vascular cell biology/immunology

Vacancy number 14718Job type PhD positionsHours (in fte) 1,0External/ internal ExternalLocation LeidenPlaced on 2 April 2024Closing date 21 April 2024 18 more days to applyThe Faculty of Science and the Institute for Biology Leiden are looking for...

PhD candidate - biodiversity & society: the Dutch home as a multispecies space

Vacancy number 14709Job type PhD positionsHours (in fte) 1,0External/ internal ExternalLocation LeidenPlaced on 2 April 2024Closing date 16 May 2024 43 more days to applyThe Faculty of Science is looking for a:PhD candidate - biodiversity & societ...

PhD position on ‘Polyelectrolyte multilayer based membranes for solvent stable nanofiltration in Biorefinery’

Job descriptionWithin Membrane Surface Science (MSuS) and Films in Fluids (FiF), both part of the Department of Membrane Science & Technology (MST) of the University of Twente, The Netherlands (www...

PhD position in Quantifying the impact of nationwide screening for cardiovascular disease chronic kidney disease and Diabetes Mellitus type 2

Job descriptionThe challenge is to transform healthcare through early detection and treatment of diseases. Cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, and type 2 diabetes severely impact the q...

PhD on the Topic of Hybrid Feedback Control for Nuclear Fusion

DIFFERThe Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER) performs leading fundamental research on materials, processes, and systems for a global sustainable energy infrastructure. We work in close partnership with (inter)national academi...

PhD position on Development of a BioArtificial Kidney device consisting of living membranes for improved kidney replacement therapy.

Job descriptionThe department of Advanced Organ bioengineering and Therapeutics AOT of the Faculty of Science and Technology (TNW), has an opening of a 4-year PhD position on the “Development of a ...

PhD Position: High-performance multi-phase, volume-coupled material point method for modelling submarine landslides

Job descriptionWe are seeking a full time PhD researcher with interests in granular physics, computer modelling and Machine Learning techniques to join University of Twente (Netherlands), and work ...

PhD position: "Applying novel particle and zooplankton imaging technologies to support the development of sustainable Blue Energy "

We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD candidate (4 years) within the Blue Energy project to apply novel imaging technologies for the monitoring of zooplankton to minimize environmental impacts on ...

PhD Candidates for the Behavioural Science Institute Graduate School

Employment 0.8 - 1.0 FTEGross monthly salary € 2,770 - € 3,539Required background Research University DegreeOrganizational unit Faculty of Social SciencesApplication deadline 21 April 2024Each year, the Behavioural Science Institute (BSI) Graduate...

EngD Position in Functional Design for Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing

Job descriptionThe challengeAs product developers gain a deeper understanding of the potential offered by additive manufacturing and the design flexibility it provides, metal laser powder bed fusio...

PhD position Reinforcement learning for digital finance

Job descriptionThe successful applicant will join the Industrial Engineering and Business Information Systems (IEBIS) section of the High-Tech Business & Entrepreneurship Department (HBE) at the Fa...

PhD in Integrated Circuits for advanced driving and control of Lidar sources

Position PhD-studentIrène Curie Fellowship NoDepartment(s) Electrical EngineeringFTE 1,0Date off 14/04/2024Reference number V36.7324Job descriptionDo you want to specialize and deepen in Integrated Circuits and mixed-signal design? Are you eager t...

2 PhD Positions in Operations Management with Healthcare Applications

Position PhD-studentIrène Curie Fellowship NoDepartment(s) Industrial Engineering and Innovation SciencesFTE 1,0Date off 21/04/2024Reference number V39.7322Job descriptionThe healthcare system is veering towards unaffordability. Are you inspired t...

PhD on Switchable and adaptive sustainable inks and coatings

Within the research group Stimuli-responsive Materials and Devices at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) we have a vacancy for a Ph.D. position.Position PhD-studentIrène Curie Fellowship NoDepartment(s) Chemical Engineering and ChemistryFTE...

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PhD Biology programs in Netherlands

Accountancy and control.

University of Amsterdam

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings is the only global university performance table to judge research-intensive universities across all of their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (research)

Biological sciences: general biology, cancer, stem cells and developmental biology.

Utrecht University

Radboud University

Molecular and cellular life sciences.

Wageningen university

Molecular life sciences, cognitive neuroscience, biomedical sciences: neurobiology, biological sciences: green life sciences, life sciences: systems biology, medical biology, animal sciences, biomolecular sciences.

University of Groningen

Molecular biology and biotechnology, transnational ecosystem-based water management.

Leiden University

Biology: evolution, biodiversity and conservation, human behaviour in social context, affective neuroscience.

Maastricht University

Neurophysics, clinical biology.

Wageningen University and Research

Marine biology, evolutionary biology, microbiology, adaptive organisms — specialisation of biology.

Free University Amsterdam

Biology and business studies, biology and education, biology and science communication and society, nanobiology.

Delft University of Technology

Bioinformatics and systems biology, deadline information, best universities with biology in netherlands.

Bachelor Biology programs in Netherlands

Master Biology programs in Netherlands

Most Popular Biology programs in Netherlands

PhD Biology programs in Netherlands

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Older brain cells linger unexpectedly before their death, posted on march 28, 2024 by morgan kelly.

Dartmouth study finds cells critical for brain function survive 45 days after trauma.

For oligodendrocytes—the central nervous system cells critical for brain function—age may not bring wisdom, but it does come with the power to cling to life for much, much longer than scientists knew. That's according to a new study featured on the March 27 cover of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Mature oligodendrocytes took a shocking 45 days to die following a fatal trauma that killed younger cells within the expected 24 hours, Dartmouth researchers report. The findings suggest there's a new pathway for efforts to reverse or prevent the damage that aging and diseases such as multiple sclerosis cause to these important cells.

In the brain, oligodendrocytes wrap around the long, skinny connections between nerve cells known as axons, where they produce a lipid membrane called a myelin sheath that coats the axon. Axons transmit the electrical signals that nerve cells use to communicate; myelin sheaths—like the plastic coating on a copper wire—help these signals travel more efficiently.

Old age and neurodegenerative diseases like MS damage oligodendrocytes. When the cells die, their myelin production perishes with them, causing myelin sheaths to break down with nothing to replenish them. This can lead to the loss of motor function, feeling, and memory as neurons lose the ability to communicate.

We think this is showing us what happens in brains as we age and revealing a lot about how these cells die in older people. That unique mechanism is important for us to investigate further.

Scientists have assumed that damaged oligodendrocytes—like all injured cells—initiate a cellular self-destruct called apoptosis in which the cells kill themselves. But Dartmouth researchers discovered that mature oligodendrocytes can experience an extended life before their death that has never been seen before. The findings pose the critical question of what in these cells changes as they mature that allows them to persist.

"We found that mature cells undertake a pathway that is still controlled, but not the classical programmed cell-death pathway," says Robert Hill , an assistant professor of biological sciences and corresponding author of the paper.

"We think this is showing us what happens in brains as we age and revealing a lot about how these cells die in older people," Hill says. "That unique mechanism is important for us to investigate further. We need to understand why these cells are following this pathway so we can potentially encourage or prevent it, depending on the disease context."

First author Timothy Chapman, Guarini '23, who led the project as a PhD candidate in Hill's research group, says that efforts to develop treatments for preserving myelin have focused on cultivating young oligodendrocytes and protecting mature ones. But this study suggests the cells may change significantly as they age and that a one-size-fits-all treatment might not work.

"In response to the same thing, young cells go one way and old cells go another," says Chapman, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University. "If you wanted to protect the old cells, you may have to do something completely different than if you wanted to help the young cells mature. You'll likely need a dual approach."

The paper builds on a living-tissue model the team reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience in March 2023 that allows them to initiate the death of a single oligodendrocyte to observe how the cells around it react. They reported that when an oligodendrocyte in a young brain died, the cells around it immediately replenished the lost myelin. In a brain equivalent to that of a 60-year-old, however, the surrounding cells did nothing and the myelin was lost.

"That model gets us as close as we can get to the cell-death process that happens in the brain," Hill says. "We're able to model the effects of aging really well. Our ability to select a single oligodendrocyte, watch it die, and watch it regenerate or fail to regenerate allows us to understand what drives this process at the cellular level and how it can be controlled."

For the latest study, the researchers used their model to fatally damage oligodendrocyte DNA using what amounts to a cellular death ray—a photon-based device called 2Phatal that Hill developed. They also used the standard method for removing myelin that uses the copper-based toxin cuprizone as a comparison.

As previous studies have reported, the immature cells died quickly. But the older cells lived on, which the Dartmouth team at first interpreted as a resistance to DNA damage.

The study came into focus when the researchers examined the mature cells 45 days later using a long-term, high-resolution imaging technique developed in the Hill lab . "That's when we saw that it wasn't that the cells were resistant to damage—they were experiencing this extended cell death instead," Hill says.

"No one's ever checked for cell death that long after DNA damage. It's the only example we can find in the literature where a cell experiences such a traumatic event and sticks around longer than a week," he says.

Because humans have oligodendrocytes for life, the cells are known to accumulate DNA damage and be more resilient than other cells, Chapman says. "That's why we think this effect is applicable to aging. One reason these cells may persist for such a long time is because they're used to experiencing this kind of damage naturally in aging," he says.

The study opens the first door of a vast labyrinth of more questions, Hill and Chapman say, such as whether the extended death is a good thing. It may be the equivalent of dysfunctional myelin, which is worse than if there was no myelin at all, Hill says. It isolates the cell from the surrounding tissue and essentially starves it of nutrients.

"It's almost like there is garbage sitting on the axon for 45 days. Do we want to save that garbage or speed up its removal? We didn't even know that was a question until we saw this," Hill says.

"If we understand the cell-death mechanism, maybe we can speed it up and get rid of that dysfunctional myelin," he says. "We're always trying to save the cells and save the tissue, but you have to know if they're worth saving."

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Department of Biology

The Department of Biology coordinates the teaching of the Bachelor’s programme in Biology and also several Master’s programmes that are offered through the Graduate Schools of Life Sciences and of Natural Sciences.

The Department also houses a large number of research chairs. Research in the Department falls under aegis of the Institute of Environmental Biology (IEB) and the Institute for Biodynamics and Biocomplexity (IBB).

Bureau of departmental administration  [email protected]​ +31 (0)30 253 2632 H.R. Kruytbuilding, room O.106 Padualaan 8 3584 CH Utrecht

Curious about what it's like to work at the Faculty of Science? Get a glimpse into our work culture through the personal perspectives of cell biologist Agathe Chaigne.

Utrecht University Botanic Garden is the largest academic botanic garden in the Netherlands, with an area of 90,000 m2 and a plant collection of more than 10,000 plants. The garden and its employees are directly linked to the research and education of the university.

Millions in funding for mapping molecular changes in brain associated with brain disorders

Science professors visit elementary schools

Suzanne McGowan appointed Professor of Aquatic Ecosystem Dynamics

Phd defence: translocation of water and nutrients during growth and fructification of agaricus bisporus, phd defence: secondary metabolites that shape the permanent symbioses between azolla ferns and nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria.

The Institute of Environmental Biology (IEB) is an international centre of excellence on functional plant studies in relation to biodiversity and global change.

• Our research covers the broad biological base. Read more about our research Research

Research at the Institute for Biodynamics and Biocomplexity spans a wide range of topics. We study 3 themes: Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Biophysics and Developmental Biology.

Utrecht offers the broadest Biology programme in the Netherlands. As a result, Biology students can choose from many different courses.

The Bachelor's track MLS combines Chemistry, Biology and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The Master’s programme Bio Inspired Innovation (BII) offers a unique blend of knowledge and skill training that will support the development of circular business-models and bio inspired research & innovations.

The goal of this programme is to make you understand how plants, animals, microbes and algae function and adapt to changing environments.

The Master's in Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences (MCLS) is research oriented and takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of molecules, cells, and organisms.

The Master’s programme Science and Business Management (SBM) aims to provide society with professionals who can understand and connect the world of science and business.

Utrecht University Heidelberglaan 8 3584 CS Utrecht The Netherlands Tel. +31 (0)30 253 35 50

• UNC Chapel Hill

Katherine Hoadley, PhD, Promoted to Associate Professor

April 5, 2024

By Jonathon Cornett

Dr. Katherine (Katie) Hoadley has been promoted to Associate Professor with permanent tenure in the Department of Genetics, effective March 29, 2024.

Dr. Hoadley earned her BA in Chemistry and BS in Biology in 2001 from West Virginia Wesleyan College followed by a PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology in 2006 from UNC-Chapel Hill.  She served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (January-July 2007) and at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) at UNC-Chapel Hill (August 2007-July 2009).  She was appointed as a Research Associate in LCCC in September 2009 and as a Research Assistant Professor in the UNC Department of Genetics in October 2013.  Dr. Hoadley was appointed as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Genetics on February 1, 2019.  She is also a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) and the Computational Medicine Program and is the Associate Director of Cancer Genomics for the UNC High-Throughput Sequencing Facility and the Faculty Director of the LCCC Bioinformatics Core.  She has an outstanding background in using genomics-based assays and integrative analysis to explore tumor heterogeneity, metastatic processes, tissue-specific effects of genomic alterations and development of genomic predictors of response or resistance to therapy.

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More from Department of Genetics

• James Crowley, PhD, Promoted to Professor
• Department of Genetics Publications for March 17th – 30th, 2024
• BCB and GMB Graduate Students Participate in March 2024 Shadow a Scientist Outreach Event

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School of Molecular & Cellular Biology

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Welcome to the School of MCB: Joseph Fernandez, PhD, coordinator for the neuroscience major

We are excited to welcome Joseph Fernandez, PhD , to the School of MCB's Instructional Program team . Dr. Fernandez joined the school in March as the new Coordinator for the Undergraduate Major in Neuroscience . We spoke with him recently to learn more about his path to neuroscience, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the School of MCB.

What drew you to being an advisor for the School of MCB?

Last year I was a postdoc in the laboratories of Dr. Cari Vanderpool and Dr. Katy Heath. My fiancée also just finished a residency with the veterinarian school, so I have been a part of the UIUC community for a few years now. My postdoc advisors were so amazing and showed me what quality mentoring means. Throughout my postdoc, I was working through burnout from research. I looked back at my fondest memories during my academic career, and they were often when I was mentoring or teaching students.  I have had such a positive time with the people in MCB that when I saw the job posting, I knew I had to apply to the Coordinator for the Undergraduate Major in Neuroscience. I love the School of MCB and the people in it, and I love working with students and helping them achieve their goals!

Can you share a little bit about yourself, including your academic and career history? What motivated you to pursue these fields?

I went to Yale University for my undergraduate degree and received a BS in psychology with a focus in neuroscience. I was also premed during my time at Yale. I originally wanted to go to medical school for neurosurgery, but after years of debate decided to pursue a PhD instead. After my undergraduate degree, I researched the neural underpinnings of autism at the Yale School of Medicine for two years. In this lab I got my first publication, however, I was still uncertain what career path I wanted. I took a few more years of to explore, living in Washington D.C. and Dakar, Senegal. After this time, I finally decided to pursue a degree back in the states.

I ended up getting my PhD in biomedical engineering from Purdue University. While I was an undergraduate, I was already making steps to move from psychology to biomedical engineering. When I was in high school (2004-08), no schools in my area had engineering classes or clubs, and it wasn’t until half-way through my Yale experience I got to learn what the field was. I was immediately interested in biomedical engineering and how engineers examine the human body, especially nervous system. It seemed just like how I see my research. I also am a firm believer in the importance of interdisciplinary and collaborative research, and the program at Purdue shared these views. As a PhD student my primary focus was on central nervous system trauma and disease, and particularly how that relates to a secondary cascade of oxidative stress and inflammation. I looked specifically at mild traumatic brain injury and subsequent impairments and neurodegeneration.

I completed my PhD in August 2022 and then started a postdoctoral research position at UIUC. Originally, I was looking for a postdoctoral position with UIUC because my fiancée had one more year of her training. I was pleasantly surprised when I got my position with Dr. Vanderpool and Dr. Heath. They were amazing mentors, and despite having a research focus completely left field of mine (on Rhizobia bacteria), we worked together to make a postdoc project for me that leaned on my strengths. I have a strong statistical background and was able to get some interesting bioinformatics work done last year and learn skills I have wantedfor a while. 

How do you hope to help students achieve their academic and career goals? What impact do you hope to make on your students’ academic journeys?

If there is one lesson I would like to help our students learn during my time here, it is to appreciate the importance of critical thinking.  As academics we should always be questioning our world and questing to make an impact for the better. We learn through asking questions and keeping an open mind to the world around us. Additionally, we all have strengths and passions. I hope that through my advising I can help students identify these strengths and passions within themselves and how to use them to achieve their academic and career goals.

As well, I hope that my own academic background can be helpful in guiding the students to success. I have a strong background in neuroscience and understand that this inherently interdisciplinary field can lead to a plethora of career opportunities. I am also a former pre-med student and PhD student; thus, I have similar experiences to our current students that I can rely to hopefully provide relevant and useful advising.

In your free time, what are some hobbies or interests that you enjoy? What makes these interesting to you?

I think that free time and expressing yourself through your hobbies is so vital to life, who we are, and our mental health. I grew up in a small town in Maine. Not only did I have a mother and grandfather who taught me to love and respect nature, I was in 4-H until I was 18. I learned a lot of interesting outdoor skills, and I was spoiled with the natural beauty Maine had to offer. I love nature, and I feel the most spirituality in my life when I am out getting my hands dirty in my garden. I love to experiment in the kitchen as well and am in my zone there. This is especially true when I get to use fresh ingredients from my garden! Woodworking is a passion of mine that I have been working on since my grandfather first taught me how to sand a board. Nature shows me beauty in the smallest things, and I cherish anytime I can be out in nature and working with my hands.

When I’m inside, my fiancée and I often play video games together. I first learned how to play video games in the late 1990s from my late grandmother. She absolutely loved the SNES game Earthbound and it was the first game I played with her. I learned throughout my life that video games can be a tool to bring families together and share fun and silly memories. When my fiancée and I sit down to a cup of tea and some Stardew Valley, I just feel at ease and know we have a great evening of fun ahead of us.

Lastly, I love to travel and explore as much as I can. There is so much in this world to explore, so many different people to meet and learn from. I know I can’t see it all, but I can try, haha! I’m a firm believer that travel and learning about other cultures is essential to us coming together as a global community. I particularly love to learn about food culture and all the differences and similarities in how we share a meal. I find a good meal is often one of the best ways to bring people together. A good meal and some hearty laughter!

What is your favorite quote? Can you share why you chose this quote and why it is meaningful to you?

I have two I’d like to share:

“Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world. The disarray. I choose to see the beauty [. . .]” — Dolores Abernathy, Westworld

I have always been a dreamer. I hope to leave this world better than I came into it and these two quotes represent important values in my life.  We are all capable of doing incredible things and changing the world for the better.  

College of Biological Sciences

Reddi seminar: “role model for heart regeneration” with ken poss.

Event Date Fri, Apr 26, 2024 @ 4:10pm - 5:00pm

Ken Poss is James B. Duke Professor of Regenerative Biology and Head of the Duke Regeneration Center at Duke University. He received his B.A. in Biology from Carleton College in 1992, and his Ph.D. in Biology from MIT in 1998 for research with Susumu Tonegawa. Dr. Poss was a postdoctoral fellow with Mark Keating at the University of Utah and Boston Children’s Hospital. In 2003, he initiated his research program at Duke to investigate zebrafish models of regeneration. Poss discovered heart regeneration in zebrafish, establishing an important natural model of robust cardiac repair, and his lab has identified key mechanisms of tissue regeneration in this animal model over the past 20 years. Recent work from his lab has developed live imaging approaches to regeneration, and has discovered and defined regulatory sequences that control regeneration programs, named tissue regeneration enhancer elements. Poss’ research goal is to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of regeneration, and to use this information to improve the poor regenerative capacity of human tissues like the heart, spinal cord, and limbs.

Date, Time & Location

April 26, 2024 @ 4:10 pm in 1022 Green Hall This event is free to attend, and no registration is required. 

About the Series

The Anu and Hari Reddi Endowed Seminar in Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine was established in 2023 by Anu and Hari Reddi to create a basic science seminar series with a focus on developmental biology and regenerative medicine. Hari Reddi, a professor emeritus of orthopedics at the UC Davis School of Medicine, is known  for his work with the BMP protein, which was a major breakthrough in the field of developmental biology.