Contestants Breaking Science 2025
A total of 29 candidates were taking part in Breaking Science 2025, all doing research at different faculties of Utrecht University.
Contestants (including finalists)
Carla Ríos Arceo
Carla is a third year PhD student at the Princess Maxima Centre, studying pediatric oncology. She's originally from the Canary Islands, and besides dealing with the Dutch weather, she spends her days working in the lab. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Cambridge and then moved to Utrecht for her Master's.
Sanne van de Looij
Sanne is a third-year PhD student at the Pharmaceutics department of Utrecht University. The main focus of her research is designing and using hydrogels for the purpose of cartilage tissue engineering. She is specifically interested in how applying different forms of dynamicity can affect the formation of functional cartilage.
Christine van Hattem
Christine is a PhD candidate at the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology. With a background in Biomedical Sciences and a Master’s in Drug Innovation, she studies patient access to innovative medicines. Her research focuses on cell and gene therapies and novel oncology medicines, gaining insights from case studies along the path from bench to bedside.
Gabriëlla Martijn
Gabriëlla is a PhD student at Utrecht University, where she researches human-chatbot communication in customer service, focusing on both the communicative aspects and collaboration with chatbots. Before starting her PhD, she earned a master’s in Communication Science from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Fenne Verheijen
Fenne is a PhD candidate researching immunometabolism at Utrecht University. With a background in Biopharmaceutical Sciences from Leiden University (both BSc & MSc), she embarked on a PhD journey in Utrecht, diving deep into the world of immuno-metabolism. Her research focuses on uncovering metabolic biomarkers that reveal the functionality of tolerogenic dendritic cells—an innovative approach to treating Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Thelma Arko
Thelma is an environmental scientist and postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht University, specializing in sustainable development and climate change. Her research focuses on just energy transitions, carbon markets, and environmental policy in Africa. With extensive experience in both field research and policy analysis, she bridges the gap between scientific research and practical policy implementation. Her current work examines the socio-economic implications of climate policies and carbon markets in developing nations.
Elena Domínguez Valdés
Elena is a PhD Candidate in Paleoclimatology at Utrecht University. She grew up near Madrid, where she studied Geology. During her Bachelor's, she learned about the fascinating stories written in rocks. After she finished her Bachelor's, she completed a Master's in Earth Sciences at Utrecht University. Her research today involves stories carried by tiny fossils that help us better understand climate change.
Roos Mulder
Roos Mulder is a PhD candidate at the Utrecht School of Governance at Utrecht University. She studies whether well-intended support by line managers can have negative effects for employee well-being and performance. Before starting her PhD, Roos studied Strategic Human Resource Management at Tilburg University and Utrecht University.
Anna van den Broek
Anna is a PhD candidate at the faculty of Geosciences at Utrecht University. She studies debris flows and the influence of vegetation on these mass movements. Although born in the Netherlands, she has always felt drawn to the mountains. After working as a ski instructor for one season, she realized that she wanted to learn more about earth’s processes, preferably in high-altitude regions. After her studies in Earth Sciences, she began her PhD research on debris flows, a dream come true!
Anna Ehlers
Anna is a Postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht University. Currently, she conducts research on developing treatments for food allergies using sugars. She completed her PhD at UMC Utrecht, where she focused on improving tests for diagnosing allergies. Before earning her PhD, she completed a Master of Science at the Technical Biochemistry department In Lubeck, Germany and worked on isolating proteins.
Chenhao Zhou
Chenhao is a PhD candidate in Social, Health and Organisational Psychology at Utrecht University. She obtained her Master's in Cultural Psychology at the University of Amsterdam and completed a Research Master Social and Behavioral Sciences at Tilburg University. As a social psychologist. she is on a mission to create more inclusive and supportive workplaces, especially for LGBTQ+ employees. Her work dives into how (sexual) identity disclosure shapes perceptions of professionalism and collaboration.
Corina Breukink
Corina works as a teacher trainer and a postdoctoral researcher in reading research at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. Her postdoc position is part of the LeesEvolutie project, in collaboration with Utrecht University. She also participates in the consortium An eye on basic competence, a project that is preparing for the future use of eye movement data in intelligent tutoring systems (HU/UU).
Eileen Bousché
Eileen is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University. She's developing innovative tools for people with acquired brain injuries to better understand their cognitive challenges in daily life. Her PhD project includes everything from tailored questionnaires to Mixed Reality serious games. Before her PhD, she obtained her Master's in Neuropsychology.
Ella MacLaughlin
Ella is a PhD Candidate at UU's School of Governance, where she uses computational text analysis methods to study how politicians communicate about uncertainty. She is originally from the U.S., and completed her Bachelor's and Master's in social science research in Amsterdam.
Eylem Keskin
Eylem is a visiting researcher at the Centre for Living Labs UU. She completed her bachelor's degree at Maltepe University, within the Department of Architecture, and her master's degree at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, whithin the Architectural Design Problems program. She's also part of the Architecture PhD program at the Izmir Institute of Technology. Her main interests are; architectural design, modern architectural history, sustainable development goals, sustainable and resilient cities, positive energy districts (PED), urban innovation, living labs, and participatory design.
Frederique Claessens
Frederique is a pharmacist and a researcher specializing in medication management for people with dementia. Combining her work as a community pharmacist with a PhD at Utrecht University, she explores ways to enhance medication safety and effectiveness in persons with dementia.
Laura Zoutendijk
Laura is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University. She researches the characterization of micro- and nanoplastics in the human placenta. Before her PhD, she studied chemistry at Utrecht University. During her bachelors she was passionate about environmental chemistry and sustainability, but missed a connection with society in her studies. Therefore, she pursued a masters in Science and Business Management, including an internship at a.s.r. mortgages about sustainable measures and their effect on carbon footprint. During this master, she realized how well science and society can go hand in hand in certain scientific projects, which led her to her PhD research.
Laura Seidling
Laura is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University, as part of the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group. She investigates a new recycling approach that involves mechanochemical impact to cleave the polyolefins into shorter-chain hydrocarbons. She completed a Bachelor's degree at Universität Heidelberg working on Polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Last year she finished her Master studies at Karlsruher Institute of Technology, where she did a research project on Non-isocyanate polyurethanes in San Sebastian (Spain). She wrote her Master thesis on Upcycling of PVC.
Laura Oskam
Laura is a PhD candidate at Utrecht Univeristy. She is currently in the second year of her PhD project on psychosocial safety in the workplace at Utrecht University. This is conducted in collaboration with the Netherlands Labour Authority. After studying Human Resource Management and Organisational Psychology in Rotterdam, she gained experience as an HR trainee at ING and worked in the sports industry.
Maarten Delemarre
Maarten is a PhD Candidate at the Veterinary Medicine faculty at Utrecht University. He works in the regenerative medicine field. Currently, he's developing advanced in vitro models for dairy cows to ensure food safety, and improve animal welfare.
Marnix van Soest
Marnix is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University. He finished his Bachelor's in Molecular Life Sciences and obtained a Master's in Cancer, stem cells and developmental Biology at Utrecht University. He is partly embedded in the Princess Máxima Center, conducting research on the safety of pluripotent stem cells at both institutions. His primary interest lies in understanding the potential risks associated with stem cell-based therapies, particularly the formation of cancer.
Martin van Pul
Martin is a junior assistant professor at Utrecht University. Martin researches change agent education in higher education, exploring how learning environments can foster collective action. He finished his Bachelor degree at University College Leiden with a major in Global Challenges and completed a Master's in Pedagogical Sciences at Utrecht University.
He strives to contribute to an education system that empowers the next generation to collaboratively shape a more just and sustainable world.
Roxy Zhang
Roxy just started her third year as a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Utrecht University. She has a background in Social Psychology. For her PhD, she investigates the underlying cognitive processes of trust development in repeated interactions with Artificial Intelligence.
Saber Shakibi
Saber is a Postdoctoral researcher in Mechanobiology at Utrecht University. He earned a Master’s degree in civil engineering, where he developed a strong foundation in mechanics and computational modeling. His interest in the role of mechanical forces in biological processes led him to transition into mechanobiology during his PhD. He is currently developing computational models, to study the effect of mechanical forces in cancer cell migration.
Shirah Buijnink
Shirah is a PhD student at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University. By conducting air and precipitation measurements in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and Veluwe, she studies spatial and temporal variability in nitrogen deposition. Her data enhance deposition models and help quantify livestock farming's contribution to regional nitrogen deposition.
Sophie Klein
Sophie is a PhD candidate in Sustainable Business, Innovation and Finance at Utrecht University. Before starting her PhD, Sophie completed a Bachelor's in Economics at Universität Heidelberg and finished a Master's degree in Sustainable Business and Innovation. She also worked as a Junior Assistant Professor at the UU and serves as a board member of the UN Global Compact Young Sustainable Finance initiative.
Thi Tran Ngoc Minh
Thi is a PhD candidate at the Department of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University. Originally from Vietnam, Thi completed her Bachelor's in Japan before moving to the Netherlands to pursue a Master's in cancer biology. Her PhD research aims to unravel the biological relevance of metabolites in T cells and extracellular vesicles from breast cancer.
Tingting Liu
Tingting is a PhD candidate in economic geography at the Faculty of Geosciences. Her main research interests are digital innovation and regional development, including geographies of digital innovation, expansion of Big Tech firms (business and R&D), and the role of digital innovation on regional resilience.
Tobias Pieper
Tobias obtained a Bachelor and Master degree in biochemistry at the Utrecht University. During his studies he focused on stem cell and organoid research. He recently started his PhD at the Inner Ear Regeneration lab of the ENT department in the UMC Utrecht.