Hi, I'm Maarten

I’m a passionate computational biologist who performed his doctoral studies in the labs of Ton Schumacher and Lodewyk Wessels at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. My PhD focused on cancer immunology, the study of immune interactions with cancer tissue with the ultimate goal of improving and personalizing cancer treatment with immunotherapies - therapies aiming to improve immune function in order to eradicate cancerous tissues.

I’ve been fascinated by both complexity and simplicity in biological systems for most of my life. I studied Biomedical sciences at the University of Amsterdam to foster this interest, where I could deepen my understanding of nature’s diversity and the architectures cell and tissue biology often adapt, frequently leading to complex emergent behaviour (e.g. homeostasis, metabolism, immunity and most notably cognition). I realized that the sheer diversity of biological components underpinning these processes quickly makes reasoning about them unfeasible using the human mind alone.
This lead me down the path of bioinformatics and systems biology, which was the topic of my MSc studies. Having completed those and with an interest in contributing societal value, I next joined the Netherlands Cancer Institute to study cancer immunology using systems biology/bioinformatics/data science approaches. I’m currently finishing up my PhD studies.

Outside of ‘work’ I have many other interests. I’m broadly interested in all kinds of technology. I’m very concerned about climate change and volunteer at a environmental protection agency. I often road bike, swim or go running. I’m a passionate jazz/blues/pop guitarist. I like cooking and experimenting with coffee brewing methodology.