Judith Houtman

From a young age, I was fascinated by observing nature. I walked around with glass tubes and dishes collecting things and “analyzing” them under my toy microscope. Not surprisingly, biology and chemistry were my favorite subjects in high school. During my university studies, I became very interested in cell and molecular biology and everything still unknown about how our cells work and our DNA is regulated. I did my PhD in neuroscience, studying mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s disease, and studied DNA regulation in brain cells as a postdoc.
I applied for the Marina van Damme fellowship to develop bioinformatics skills, which are essential in molecular biology today, and set up my own research group. During the COVID19 pandemic I was unable to use my fellowship, and during this time my dream changed. I recently transitioned into the field of science management, starting as scientific coordinator at the university hospital in Bonn. I’m excited to start the steep learning curve that comes with a new job and will keep my eyes open for further opportunities to develop myself.