I trained as a biologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands. After specializing in molecular biology, biotechnology (at TU Delft), and yeast physiology, I wrapped up my studies with a thesis in the philosophy of biology (on the question what is life?, of course). Drawn by both the theoretical and the empirical, I subsequently did my PhD research (still in Leiden) on molecular computing – the design and implementation of computing devices using molecular biological tools.

I then moved to genomics research with postdocs at the University of Amsterdam, biotech startup ZF-screens (*), and again at Leiden University. These were the early days of next-generation sequencing, with exciting first studies of the genomes of eels, tulips, and snakes. At Hogeschool Leiden, I set up a nanopore sequencing lab.

Since 2018, I have lived and worked in Norway. I still try to understand what life is and how it works. Presently this involves using single-cell transcriptomics to study genome evolution and developmental plasticity.