Over the past decades, the chemistry field has become more diverse and more cross-functional, demanding more versatility and more diversity of thought for us to deliver on today’s scientific challenges. It is that diversity and cross-functional thinking that motivate me as a scientist. In this talk, I would like to share some of my scientific and career stories navigating working across diverse areas in chemistry and biology and working in different countries and with people from different nationalities and cultures.<br/>Born and raised Dutch, I started my career in academia in the Netherlands in organic chemistry, with a focus on strain-promoted cycloadditions. After applying these to protein conjugation and cell surface labeling, I decided to pursue a Postdoc on protein engineering and glycobiology in the US. Transitioning to my industry career at Lilly, I went back to my organic chemistry roots, working on medicinal chemistry as well as mode-of-action questions for small molecule drugs. Now, I am back working in the field of biology while leading a team of biologists in the Lilly Genetic Medicine department, focusing on increasing our mode-of-action understanding of RNA therapeutics.<br/>In this talk, I will take you through my career journey, my science, the choices I made along the way, my learnings, and how I use my experience to mentor the next generation of scientists.

Crossing borders, removing boundaries, changing perspective

Where thousands of chemistry professionals meet to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge. Spring 2023 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch at the end of March.

ACS Spring 2023

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.