Antoinette Killian awarded the EBSA/Avanti prize

Antoinette Killian of the Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics group of the Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research at the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Science has ebeen awarded the prestigious EBSA/Avanti prize 2015. This biennial award, stablished by Avanti Polar Lipids and accompanied with an honorarium of US$ 3,000 is given for outstanding contributions to the understanding of lipid biophysics and will be presented to her at the 10th European Biophysics Congress in Dresden, July 2015.

Antoinette Killian studied chemistry at Utrecht University, where she graduated in 1986 on biophysical studies of model membrane systems (promotor prof. dr. Ben de Kruijff). She did post-doctoral research with prof. Dan W. Urry (University of Birmingham, Alabama) and with prof. Tim Cross (Florida State University), supported by an NWO stipend. She then returned to Utrecht University, where she obtained a faculty position at the research group Biochemistry of Membranes. In 1993 she spent a sabbatical with prof. Goran Lindblom (Umeå, Sweden). She was awarded the FEBS (Federation of European Biochemical Societies) prize for her work on peptide/lipid interactions in 1995 and in the same year she received an honorary doctorate degree at Umeå University. In 2002 she was appointed full professor at Utrecht University, where she now heads the research group Membrane Biochemistry & Biophysics. She has (co)-authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications.