Group Leader (Associate Professor)
CurrentMy research group at the Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital investigates the mechanisms that preserve cell viability and protect against cancer development. Cells with unstable genomes are at high risk of becoming cancerous, and my group is particularly interested in the detection and repair of DNA lesions, which maintain genome integrity. These mechanisms are prevented from operating at natural chromosome ends by unique nucleoprotein structures, called telomeres. However, telomeres shorten with every cell division, eventually compromising telomere protection and leading to cell death, senescence or genomic instability, which have important consequences for aging and the development of cancer.
Oct 2012 - Present
