Drug resistance, Pharmacology, Innovative therapies

Main research interest: My research focuses on unraveling molecular mechanisms of drug resistance and designed strategies to overcome drug resistance in the field of autoimmune diseases, in particular rheumatoid arthritis. This work concentrates on classical disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) as well as new generations of small molecule experimental drugs with novel mechanisms of action.

Academic career/positions:

2001 - present : Research associate/PI, Dept. of Rheumatology, Amsterdam University Medical Center – location VUmc
1996 - 2000 : Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of Medical Oncology, VU University Medical Ctr
1992 - 1995 : Recipient of a fellowship of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
1991 - 1992 (July) : Post-doctoral fellow at the Dept. of Medical Oncology, VU University Medical Ctr
1990 (July-Dec) : Visiting scientist at Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, OH, U.S.A.
1985 - 1990 : Post-doctoral fellow at the Dept. of Oncology, State University Hospital Utrecht, Utrecht
April 3, 1984 : Ph.D. thesis, entitled "Enzymological aspects of erythroid cell differentiation", State University of Utrecht, The Netherlands (Thesis advisors: Prof. Dr. G.E.J. Staal and Prof. Dr. G.C. de Gast)
1981 - 1984 : Ph.D. training, State University Hospital, Utrecht,
The Netherlands. (Department of Hematology/Division of Medical Enzymology)
1974 - 1980 : Biochemistry/Biomedial Research/Clinical Chemistry training, State University Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands