DC 8 – Mechano-chemo models of the knee and intervertebral disc joints, to explore the emergence of age-related risk factors of degeneration
Can you share a bit about your academic and professional journey?
I hold both a master’s and bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Technical University of Eindhoven, where I have developed a foundation and strong interest in numerical simulations of biological tissues. In my bachelor’s thesis, I coupled a notch signaling pathway to a FE model of a vascular scaffold to study cell behaviour. My master’s thesis involved developing a FE model of an in situ Tissue Engineered cardiovascular stent from scratch, where I explored its elastoplastic material behavior and as part of my master, I also did 3-month internship at the Lund University in Sweden with the biomechanics group of Hanna Isakssons, where I studied Achilles tendon mechanics and incorporated the fiber orientation data from X-ray tomography scans into an existing FEM model at two length scales. After this internship I stayed on as a Project Assistant at Lund University to further develop the research and write a publication on the outcomes, which is currently under review.
What motivated you to pursue a Doctoral candidacy within the Doctoral Network?
After finishing my studies, I had the feeling that I was not done with studying yet and wanted to advance my skills in finite element modeling, cell regulatory networks, and image segmentation. The program’s additional aspects involving motion capture and machine learning also appealed to my desire to keep learning and exploring new aspects of research.
What aspects of this training and research program are you most excited about?
I am mostly excited about the collaborative aspect of the research program, having multiple meet ups with similar researchers in the field and being able to work with them, learn from them and get new ideas.
