Research interests

I am a computational biologist trained in bioinformatics and systems biology. My research interests are evolutionary and cancer genomics. I think it is fascinating that we are able to learn about important events in evolution by ‘reading’ the genome of humans and other species using biological models, mathematics and computer science. As cancer development is in a sense an evolutionary process as well, we can apply similar tools to study this disease and find possible treatments. Before starting in Academia, I gained over ten years of teaching and programming experience in the education sector and industry. My current role as assistant professor in Bioinformatics allows me to combine my passion for both science and education.

Research projects

The focus of my PHD was the detection of gene networks that have been the target of natural selection, using information on gene interactions and polymorphisms in humans and primates. During my first postdoc at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona I worked on the detection of positive selection in duplicated regions in the genome, specifically using long read sequencing data sets and targeting non-coding regions of the genome. During my second postdoc I studied genetic interactions in childhood cancer at the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht.