Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht
The University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), is the academic hospital affiliated with Utrecht University. It originated in 1999 from the merger of the academic hospital Utrecht (1872), and the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital (1888). With over 1100 beds and >11000 employees, UMCU is one of the largest academic centres in the Netherlands. The UMCU organises its top-level care, research and education in six strategic programs. One of these programs is 'Infection and Immunity which focuses its efforts in the Antimicrobial Resistance research centre and the Utrecht Centre for Allergic and Inflammatory Diseases (U-CALLID). U-CALLID is dedicated to the care, research and education of allergic and inflammatory diseases. The Allergy and dermatology department is a part of U-CALLID. UMCU has excellent training facilities, offers a wide range of PhD programs and is a leader in high quality (biomedical) education and research. Every year 2-3 PhD students work in the food allergy group and > 10 internships are hosted. The food allergy group also assists in annual EAACI training schools and post graduate courses.
ALLPreT team members uitklapper, klik om te openen
Dr. Kitty Verhoeckx, Assistant Professor Food Allergy
Assistant professor food allergy. Expertise: analytical chemistry targeted and untargeted proteomics, protein transport, protein digestion and protein processing, immune models. She was a member of different European consortia (COST Action Infogest (food digestion), EFSA focus group on allergenicity, ILSI and she was the chair of COST Action ImpARAS. Supervised 3 PhD students and 10 internships. Dr Verhoeckx is the Project Coordinator, and therefore involved in WP1 (project coordination & management). Furthermore, she is also the lead of WP3 (Dissemination, communication and exploitation), supervisor of Birte Hell (DC7), and co-supervisor of Sim Ray Yue (DC2) and Elif Oztemiz Topcu (DC5).
Dr. Edward Knol, Associate Professor Translational Immunology
Teaching expertise: lecturing bachelor, master and PhD training programmes at different universities in the Netherlands and coordinator of bachelor courses at Biomedical Sciences and Medicine at University Utrecht, as well as at Technical University Eindhoven. From 2010-2020 he chaired the education committee of the University Utrecht graduate school Immunity and Infection, holding 56 masters and 180 PhD students. He has organised 3 European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) Winter schools. Since 2019 Dr. Knol was the Vice President Congresses of EAACI. Other expertises: Immunology, Food Allergy, Atopic dermatitis, Skin Immune system, T lymphocytes, allergy diagnostic tests, basophil Dractivation tests. Dr. Knol co-supervises Birte Hell (DC7), is co-lead of the 'training and supervision' work package, and is part of the educational committee.
Naomi de Bruijne, MSc.
Naomi de Bruijne is EU Project Manager from the Research Office (Funding & Support) at the UMC Utrecht, with expertise in MSCA and Erasmus+ projects. She has a background in Biomedical Sciences and Management and Policy Analysis in the Health and Life Sciences, both acquired at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. As part of the UMCU team, she is involved in WP1 (project coordination and management) and WP3 (dissemination, exploitation and communication) and oversees and advises on all non-content related matters of the project.
Birte Hell, MSc.
Birte Hell is PhD candidate at UMCU, and Doctoral Candidate 7 in the ALLPreT project. She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degree from University of Luebeck, Germany. Previous work experience in dermatology on autoimmune blistering diseases and wound healing, as well as projects on NK cell interactions with solid tumors. The DC7 project focuses on food allergen sensitization and uptake in the skin, in vitro. A major aim of this PhD project is to establish an in vitro human skin model to study processes involved in food allergen sensitization in the skin. During her PhD, Birte Hell will do two secondments, one at MatTek In Vitro Life Sciences Laboratories, SRO in Bratislava and one at Dr. Epstein’s lab at the Medical University in Vienna.
Learn more about the UMCU on their website, or contact Dr. Verhoeckx via e-mail.