Noortje van Dijk

Noortje van Dijk has reached the final stage of her selective Research Master in Molecular Medicine and Innovative Treatment and, in view of her current list of marks, she is headed for a cum laude distinction. She also graduated cum laude from secondary school, and had an average mark of 7.9 for her Bachelor’s in Biomedical Sciences. Fair to say, these are excellent results. Her interests lie in the field of the molecular biology of the regulation and dysregulation of genes in genetic diseases and tumours. As part of her degree programme, she is completing a placement at the University of Oxford, where she investigates the impact of the spatial, 3D-structure of DNA on gene expression. There are good indications that the results of this study will soon be published in a high-quality scientific journal.

In addition to her studies, Noortje has been very active in rowing at the rowing club Gyas. For over a year, she rowed semi-professionally (20 hours/week, living like a professional), and afterwards remained active as a rowing coach. Within the study association Idun for students of Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Life Sciences & Technology, and associated Master’s degree programmes, she acted as year representative and chair of the sports committee. She worked as a student assistant and was a member of the board of the Science Business Days Groningen foundation.

Her interesting pitch addressed the most recent developments in repairing errors in genes, something that can now even be done on the level of a single base pair.