Alumnus testimonial
Alumnus Patricia Dijkman - MSc Molecular Life Sciences
During my time in Wageningen, I felt that there was a real emphasis on practical courses, research, and fostering independence. This has helped me throughout my career, taking initiative in my research and structuring my work. Cryo-EM is crucial to my work now and I believe the foundations laid during my MSc - learning about various other biophysical techniques - contributed to me being able to pick up this new technique during my post-doctoral studies.
My time in academia definitely contributed to my current career in industry.
Why Molecular Life Sciences?
"I very much enjoyed the practical courses during the Molecular Life Sciences BSc so I decided to do two long research projects during my MSc. I first did a project at the Laboratory of Biophysics on non-photochemical quenching, a mechanism plants have evolved to protect their photosynthetic machinery from possible damage that can arise in conditions of excess light. After this, I did a project at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, on the structure of Neurotensin Receptor 1. The lab was very international, and everyone brought in their own knowledge and experience, which was super valuable and educational. After completing my MSc, I stayed on to do my graduate studies at Oxford."
Career in a nutshell
"After my PhD, I did two post-docs on cryo-EM at two Max Planck Institutes in Germany. Although it was tough at times, I really enjoyed the fundamental curiosity-driven nature of my post-doctoral work and was initially considering to stay in academia. Academia is sometimes seen as the default option; however, having seen that group leaders in academia often have less time to do actual research, I questioned which next step would be right for me. In the end I took up a position at ThermoFisher Scientific in Eindhoven. I work in an R&D team that aims to improve the cryo-EM workflow and I’m learning a lot about engineering, working in teams and project management. I really enjoy the collaborative aspect of my work, which is a refreshing change from academia."