Thankful and honored to receive the WKZ research fund ’22-’23.
With this financial support, I will look into the interaction between T and B cells and the generation/optimization of antibody generation in early life. As naive T cells in early life appear to respond to different triggers than later in life, the need to tailor therapies and diagnostics to the pediatric immune system is evident.
Graduated Research Talent Career development program
With great pleasure, I finished the UMC Utrecht Research Talent Career Development program [info].
The program aims to develop very talented researchers in their research careers. This program has four development programs in which themes like personal effectivity, building networks, negotiating, and Recognition & Rewards and Open Science are core.
The program consisted of skill training in:
– Personal leadership
– Effective communication & Expert dialog
– Open Science accelerator
– Peer coaching
– Dealing with scientific negotiations
– Make powerful choices in your career
ECR Editorial board member
As an official journal of the British Society for Immunology (BSI), Clinical & Experimental Immunology is passionate about championing the next generation of immunologists by supporting early career researchers who want to get involved with research at the point of publication. With this in mind, they developed a dedicated Editorial Board specifically for early career researchers (ECRs) who will work closely with more senior members of the editorial team, including the Editor-in-Chief and Section Editors to learn how to effectively review for a journal, as well as receiving experience in other Editorial Board activities.
[link]
Talent Research Career Development Program
Excited to be selected to join the Talent development program [info] of the UMC Utrecht.
Aim of the program is to develop very talented researchers in their research career. This program exists of four development programs in which themes like personal effectivity, building networks, negotiating and of course Recognition & Rewards and Open Science are core.
Nature, correspondence – Career development
In this correspondence we discuss that graduate and Ph.D. students need to be made aware that a position as principal investigator (PI) in academia is not the career default to attain. We argue that a change in the mindset of students via more inclusive guidance concerning future career prospects will help reduce the feeling of failure, with associated depression and anxiety, many Ph.D. students are currently facing. A reset of research career default mindset is needed, among others.
This is correpondence is part of my goal to promote and support professional development of yNVVI and yEFIS network members.
Article accepted Nature Communications (2nd author)
Soon available open access:
Follicular T Cells are Clonally and Transcriptionally Distinct in B Cell-Driven Mouse Autoimmune Disease, by
Elliot Akama-Garren, Theo van den Broek*, Lea Simoni*, Carlos Castrillon, Kees van der Poel, and Michael Carroll. (* contributed equally)
As part of my Marie Curie sponsored research activities during my postdoc in the Carroll-lab (Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School). More research to follow.
Awarded Infection & Immunity Boost Grant
Excited and honored to be selected for this Boost grant. Many great collaborations and projects will follow.
The Infection & Immunity Boost Grant aims to initiate new research projects combining expertise of the infection as well as the immunity research field. The research project addresses pressing questions in the field with an expected promising outcome.
Project title:
To unravel the role of innate signals in the (pre-)differentiation and function of naive T cells
Alumnus of the month University of Utrecht
Super excited and honored to be nominated as alumnus of the month of the University of Utrecht (UU) for a special achievement. Especially considering the UU is ranked as 1st in the Netherlands and 50th in the world (2021) of best universities.
Fellow of the Week – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
It is a honour to be selected as Fellow of the Week by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
JoLS initiative highlighted – Medisch Contact, UMC Utrecht
The Journal of Life Sciences, a postdoc community initiative, and my role and goal as a co-founder of the journal has been highlighted by several Dutch institutions.
Medisch Contact (Dutch) – [Link] [PDF]
University Medical Center Utrecht (Dutch) – [PDF}
Department of Infection & Immunity (English) – [PDF]