Eline van de Ven

Scientific background

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I started my scientific journey with the bachelor degree “Biology and medical Laboratory Science” at Avans University of Applied Science in Breda. During my bachelor, I obtained my pre-master in Medical Biology, and I got the opportunity to perform my graduation internship at the Queensland Brain Institute in Brisbane, Australia. The project I worked on during my time here focused on reducing symptoms of the neuromuscular disease ALS on a cellular level in an ALS mouse model by using a chemogenetic silencing approach.

I’ve always had a great interest in neurobiology, and after finishing my bachelor degree, I continued my studies at the Radboud University to complete my Master in Medical Biology, with a specialization in Neuroscience. During my Master graduation internship, I got the honor to work in Dr. Jürgen Knoblich’s lab at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, Austria. My project(s) were focused on developmental neurogenesis in healthy and microcephalic 3D human cerebral organoids, and this experience was a great addition to my education. It also spiked my interest in working with (stem) cell models and after finished my Master, I started as Research Associate at HUB Organoid Technology, working mainly with colorectal, bladder and head & neck (cancer) organoids.

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These past experiences have been of great value for my current PhD project, supervised by Prof. Dr. Dirk Lefeber and Dr. Alex Garanto. My project aims to unravel tissue-specific mechanisms in patients with a genetic defect in sialic acid metabolism, and finding possible targets for AON-based therapies to treat these patients. My focus specifically will be on NPL myopathy and NANS CDG, and I will use muscle and brain stem cell models to recapitulate these diseases.

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Hobbies outside science

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Outside of work, you can often find me in the crossfit gym, or in the music studio working on cover songs together with my sister/our band. Next to that, I also like riding my motor cycle and hanging out with friends!