Information for students
Resources
On our links page you can find a collection of handouts with "How To" tips for writing and presenting.
We hope that these resources will help you to structure your thoughts and to convey information in such a way that it is both scientifically sound and appealing to read, watch and listen to.
Use them to your advantage, especially when you are doing an assignment under the supervision of Renée, because these are the things that will be pointed out to you in her feedback anyway!
If you have suggestions for improvements, including new tools or links to add, contact .
Teaching
We teach in multiple BSc and MSc programs. For a complete overview of our teaching, see the list at the bottom of the page.
We are happy to answer questions related to course content and course coordination, or academic life in general. To schedule an appointment during office hours (Mon 8-9 via Zoom, Mon 17-18 in person), contact .
Please note:
- Before sending an e-mail, always check the UvA web pages and Canvas first. Frequently, the answer to your questions can be found in the study guide, course manual and/or course announcements.
- Contact the education service desk for general/logistic questions.
- If you have specific questions about the 3rd year Frontiers in Medical Biology elective track (which is also offered as the minor Biomedical Sciences) or the MSc elective Critically Reading Scientific Papers (previously called Current Issues in Developmental Biology): contact .
- If you have sent an e-mail and haven't heard back within a week, please send a polite reminder.
Research internships
Lab space permitting, we always have opportunities for motivated and ambitious students with an interest in the area of mammalian development, stem cell biology, (breast) cancer research or Wnt signaling.
You will work on a defined fundamental research question in close collaboration with PhD students, postdocs and technicians and will learn to use a variety of experimental techniques (ranging from DNA cloning to quantitative RT-PCR, cell culture, advanced microscopy and histological analyses).
You will also join in our work and literature discussions, thereby actively contributing to ongoing research in the lab.
In short, you will learn how to plan, execute and interpret your own experiments, but also find out what it is like to work on exciting fundamental research questions as part of a team (spoiler alert: this mainly means that you need to become comfortable not knowing things, become adept in troubleshooting, and realize that there is no such thing as a final right answer).
Please note that:
- Space is limited: Every year, we select students at the end of October (for a start in January/February onwards).
Contact by e-mail to register your interest. Include a motivation and CV (a grade list can be included if you want). We always try to find the best match between students, projects and supervisors.
- Priority will be given to students from the UvA Biomedical Sciences program. We aim for a mix of BSc and MSc students. Space permitting, we also accept students from other universities and HBO (both within the Netherlands and abroad).
- Spots for BSc and 1st year MSc students tend to fill up rapidly. It is often easier to place a 2nd year MSc student with a bit more experience. So also consider us for your final internship!
In the past, we have hosted students from different tracks, including the "Cell Biology and Advanced Microscopy", "Oncology", "Developmental and Therapeutic Biology" and "Molecular Neurosciences" tracks.
Check out our list of alumni to see what previous students have worked on.
Our research is dynamic: Unexpected results and new ideas pop up all the time and we always try to involve students in active, ongoing research. Additional information and project descriptions are therefore available upon request.
Interested students should not hesitate to contact or to discuss possibilities.
You should also be able to find us at the annual research internship market in September!
Literature theses
Because we want to make sure that students get proper supervision and feedback on their work, we can only supervise a limited number of literature theses at any one time.
Due to the number of requests we receive, we will only supervise students who write their thesis on a topic directly connected to our ongoing work. Fun fact: in the past, the literature thesis of some of our students have resulted in the publication of peer-reviewed review articles!
Teaching 2022 - 2023
September 2022: Molecular Biology of the Cell
(Renée, 1st year MSc Biomedical Sciences, supervising study groups)
September 2022: Highlight college
(Renée, 1st year BSc Biomedische wetenschappen)
Lecture: "De grenzen van het onbekende: van mens tot molecuul" - via Zoom due to NS train strike)
September-October 2022: Frontiers in Medical Biology I
(Renée, Thijs, Ingeborg, Tanne, Marleen, 3rd year BSc Biomedische Wetenschappen, lectures & tutorials (Thijs/Renee), wetlab practical (all), course coordinator (Renée))
October 2022: Shaping a human
(Renée, Thijs, Yorick (TA), 1st year MSc Biomedical Sciences, DTB track, lectures & assignment (Thijs/Renee))
November 2022: Frontiers in Medical Biology II
(Renée, 3rd year BSc Biomedische Wetenschappen, assessing/evaluating business proposal pitches)
Frontiers in Medical Biology II follows Frontiers in Medical Biology I.
October 2022: Biomedical Systems Biology
(Renée, 1st year MSc Biomedical Sciences)
Lecture: "the eternal life of stem cells: models for their role in health and disease", supervising grant writing proposals)
November/December 2022: Advanced Genomics
(Thijs, 3rd year BSc Biomedische wetenschappen)
Journal club/Tutorials and wet lab practical on stem cells and genome wide gene expression
February 2023: Molecular Systems Biology
(Renée, 2nd year BSc Biomedische Wetenschappen, honours program)
Lecture: "stem cells and cancer development"
February 2023: Highlight college
(Renée, 1st year BSc Biomedische wetenschappen)
Lecture: "muismodellen in stamcel- en kankeronderzoek")
February 2023: Genregulatie
(Renée, 3rd year BSc Biomedische wetenschappen)
Lecture: "Reprogramming")
February/March/April 2023: Current Issues in Developmental Biology
(Renée, 1st and 2nd year MSc Biomedical Sciences, course coordinator together with Frank Jacobs)
In addition, Thijs and Renée serve as supervisor and examiner for the BSc mini thesis assignment, and external BSc and MSc internships and literature theses.
Renée teaches recurring guest lectures at the Vrije Universiteit (MSc course on signal transduction, coordinated by prof.dr. Martine Smit) and Erasmus Univerity in Rotterdam (BSc course on stem cells for medical students, coordinated by Dr. Derk ten Berge).
For an overview of our previous teaching, please visit our teaching archive.