Author: admin

  • Introducing ESR8!

    Introducing ESR8!

    Hello, my name is Helen Tan and I am known as ESR8 in the CONSENSE consortium. I am happy to have this opportunity to write a short blog post to introduce myself, so here we go!

    I was born and raised in Malaysia, in a middle-class family of four. Since I was young, I have always been curious about the things around me and eager to learn new things. To quench my curiosity, I garnered an interest in reading and watching documentaries; these hobbies have helped me to understand the world better and to develop my own view and perspectives. I believe that these interests have led me to continue on the scientific journey after completing my secondary school education.

    I studied Materials Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, UK. During my studies, I have participated in research activities in multiple research groups, both at my home university and also overseas research institute (IST Austria), to gain experience. However, I have to say that the most memorable research that I have done during my university years is my research on fiber-reinforced composite as a potential cartilage mimic. In that project, I developed an in-silico model to establish minimum design requirements for a poroelastic mimic of articular cartilage, and I was very lucky to be able to publish my results in a scientific journal.

    I could not be more happy and fortunate to have chosen materials science as my major. I was – and am still – mesmerized by the interdisciplinary nature of the field, and I developed a passion for biomaterials and nanomaterials thanks to my prior experiences. This has fueled my will to further study as a PhD. candidate in the group of Prof. Menno Prins at the Eindhoven University of Technology to do research on the novel biosensing technology, known as Biosensing by Particle Mobility (BPM), that has been established in the group previously. I cannot wait to see what I can learn and gain from this journey.

    Thanks for reading!

  • Back in the Netherlands! CONSENSE meets EU project officer and SensUs teams.

    Back in the Netherlands! CONSENSE meets EU project officer and SensUs teams.

    Midterm check meeting

    CONSENSE is funded by the Marie-Skłodowska-Curie scheme. One important goal of this program is to train the students to become highly skilled researchers and enhance innovation in fields of interest within the EU. In this network, specialists and students are working towards the goal of creating continuous sensors of biomolecules for the health sector. 

    During this bi-annual meeting, we linked up with the EU project officer to ensure the network is on track for achieving their ultimate goal.  The meeting was a success and feedback was provided to allow CONSENSE to continue striding forward. 

    ESRs present themselves to the EU project officer
    The team of ESRs at the TU/e
    “We had very fruitful meetings with the EU project officer, all PhD students and their supervisors, on the research projects and the training. In addition, the Consense students met for the first time with the student teams in SensUs, the annual international student competition in the field of sensors for health. The Consense students do in-depth biosensor research while the SensUs students build working prototypes, you can imagine how this leads to inspiring exchanges!”
    Menno Prins Network coordinator

    Network update

    Estelle Bonedeau (ESR4) presents her research results

    Following the check meeting, the ESRs showcased their research progress in the field of continuous biosensing. The day was filled with many scientific discussions, and possible collaborations, as everyone shared their experience and provided feedback.

    The two previous meetings took place in a hybrid form, mainly due to travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately for the check meeting, all the ESRs and most PIs were finally able to join the network face-to-face. 

    “Being able to attend the CONSENSE meeting in-person was an excellent opportunity to get to learn more from our partners and witness their true passion in developing creative solutions that can revolutionise disease diagnosis field.”
    Abtin Saateh ESR10

    SensUs competition

    The third and final part of this CONSENSE meeting was the SensUs competition at TU/e. This competition is all about allowing undergraduate students to gain experience in impactful research in the field of biosensing. This year, many teams from around the globe met up and showed off their biosensor design, pitched their business proposals and competed for the most sensitive set up. The ESRs from CONSENSE also participated the event by presenting their posters on their work, providing feedback to the student teams and sharing thoughts on life as a PhD student and possible opportunities available, such as the Marie-Skłodowska-Curie scheme. Check out more pictures from the SensUs competition:

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    Overall, it was a very packed but insightful and rewarding week. As always, we look forward to the next meeting. 

    Authors: Andris Jeminejs and Emily Tsang

  • Let’s welcome ESR2!

    Let’s welcome ESR2!

    Hello, my name is Alexander Stephany; I am the most recently recruited CONSENSE member — ESR2.

    About me

    From the age of 6, I have lived south of Brussels — in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium. During my years in Belgium, like many teenagers, I was part of a scouting group. At 18, I continued as a leader for children aged between 7-12 for 5 years.

    My journey in science

    I began my studies at the Université Catholique de Louvain, where I obtained both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. I did my Master’s thesis in the laboratory of Prof. Patrice Soumillion. The scope of this thesis was to purify and characterize the L- and D-transpeptidases from Escherichia coli. This allowed me to acquire experience in molecular biology and biochemistry. This was possible thanks to my mentor who did a great job of sharing his experience and inspired me to continue in research.

    After my studies, I worked for a university start-up, studying human nuclear receptors active in cancer development. Thanks to the great team at this company I gained new skills and more experience.

    Where I am now

    I have just started a new adventure at the TU/e, in the Netherlands, in the protein engineering group of Prof. Maarten Merkx. This challenge is a great opportunity for me to learn about directed evolution, protein engineering, antibodies, and biochemistry in general. All this is possible thanks to the support from the CONSENSE ITN network.

    Thanks for reading!

    Please come back to read the other ESR introductions!

    Author: Alexander Stephany

  • Introducing ESR6

    Introducing ESR6

    Hi, nice to meet you! My name is Andris and in the CONSENSE network, I am known as ESR6.

    I guess it is appropriate to start with my background. I was born and raised in Riga, the capital of Latvia, one of the Baltic States. In short, ever since high school, my whole life revolved around chemistry. To not sound cliché, let me explain.

    Growing up I considered myself a “science kid”. I was really interested in literally anything as long as it sounded “science-y”, let it be looking at onion peel film under the microscope or trying to wrap my head around the angular momentum phenomenon in physics. But my chemistry teacher was the most instrumental in satiating my curiosity and rerouted it into an urge to study chemistry (especially organic chemistry, because who needs the easy way out, right?). You could probably guess where this is going.

    I obtained my bachelor’s and master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Riga Technical University (RTU), Latvia. There, I received an excellent opportunity to learn about different strategies and synthetic procedures in organic chemistry and, most importantly, got to work (and sometimes tinker) with scary and menacing-looking machines like nucleic magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers and high-performance liquid chromatography machines.

    Later in my studies, due to my diligent work (or maybe excessive tinkering with machines, I am still not sure), I was offered a research assistant position at the Institute of Technology of Organic Chemistry at RTU. For the curious little boy in me, it was a wonderful creative outlet to make a bunch of new, previously unknown chemicals that sometimes acted or looked weird. My main scientific focus was the synthesis and analysis of annulated pyrimidine derivatives, such as purines and quinazolines. These compounds are widely studied and used in biochemistry and biology, as some of them, for example, are crucial for life processes or disease/disorder treatment, while others make up our DNA and RNA.

    After finishing my master’s, I wanted to explore possibilities out of my comfort zone and dive into something new. As I have previously worked with the synthesis of DNA/RNA building blocks, it seemed only logical to try “a step higher” – to work with DNA itself. Thanks to CONSENSE, I was able to join Professor Kurt Gothelf’s group at Aarhus University, Denmark. This is a life-changing opportunity to gain experience in the fields of oligonucleotide synthesis, DNA modification, protein conjugation, and all that together applied in biosensor technologies. I am genuinely grateful to be part of the CONSENSE ITN network and privileged to carry the ESR title.

    Let’s say this was a decent introduction on my part. Time to wrap up!

    Hope to see you again!

    Author: Andris Jeminejs

  • Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions in Action!

    Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions in Action!

    On the 12th and 13th of July 2022, the ESR9 Livio Miranda participated in the Satellite Event promoted by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). The event took place in Leiden (the Netherlands) and comprised different panels on current and essential topics regarding the MSCA priorities, as well as practical workshops. Below, you can check a few words about this event from Livio:

    “The event started-off with a panel that clearly elucidated the priorities of MSCA for the present and future. The list of priorities includes career development (at all stages of career), equality and gender balance, excellence in all fields of research, as well as cooperation with non-academic world, international broadening and intersectoral collaboration.

    The following panels engaged very fruitful discussions among the speakers and the audience, which was mainly comprised of Early Stage Researchers and Researchers supported by the MSCA. The panel on Science Diplomacy raised awareness on policy approaches to science policy for global cooperation in Research and innovation. It was very interesting that the panelists were very motivated and consolidated researchers that at some point took a career shift for science diplomacy roles, which is critical for evidence-based decisions in all spheres of society. 

    The communication workshop was another great opportunity to learn different tools on how to give a TED-like speech for general audiences. During the workshop, the researchers formed groups in order to think collectively on how to make research topics more appealing and exciting for a general public.

    Other than that, societal-relevant discussions were raised among the panelists and audience, including the awareness of new opportunities for Ukrainian researchers, as well as perspectives on policy approaches to support academic freedom for researchers who are at risk.

    You can find some recorded videos and material at the official satellite event website (EuroScience Open Forum 2022 (ESOF) – MSCA Satellite event – idloom-events). And as an interesting fact: between 2012 and 2020, 12 Nobel Prize winners were either backed by or involved in the Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions.”

    Author: Livio Miranda

  • Introducing ESR7​

    Introducing ESR7​

    Hi there! I’m Emily ESR 7 in the CONSENSE consortium.

    I’m here to introduce a little bit about myself so I’ll dive right into my academic background. In 2020, I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Southampton. Here, I became interested in the topic of synthetic biology, so I decided to continue my education in this area. In 2021, I graduated with a Master of Research in Systems and Synthetic Biology from Imperial College London. Whilst learning about many different aspects of synthetic biology and its potential uses, I became fascinated by the topic of DNA origami, a technique which allows the delicate folding of DNA. I decided to explore a little more in this field by taking an 8-month long research project which involved using DNA origami nanostructures together with time-resolved cryo-EM. Currently I am pursuing a PhD, still within the field of

    DNA origami, now under the supervision of Professor Kurt Gothelf at Aarhus University within the CONSENSE ITN. My PhD project involves the design and fabrication of DNA nanostructures using DNA origami to create a continuous biosensor to detect small biomolecules which are relevant for illness and disease.

    There are many reasons why I decided not only to pursue a PhD in the field of DNA origami but also specifically within the CONSENSE network. Firstly, I am fascinated by the technique and its potential uses in the future. I hope to be able to use my time to become an expert in the field and advance it further into industrial applications. Secondly, I was interested in the idea of joining an ITN because of all the other opportunities it would provide me during my time as a PhD student. I look forward to the secondments in both an academic and industrial setting as it will allow me to experience another new work environment, further my knowledge in different fields and opens doors for collaboration. Along with the secondments taking place abroad, as well as the biannual CONSENSE conferences, this ITN will allow me to further my international experience and develop other personal traits.

    I am privileged to be a part of the CONSENSE ITN and look forward to seeing myself develop scientifically, professionally, and personally in the next few years. I hope this gives you a little idea about myself!

    Until next time!

    Author: Emily Tsang

  • CONSENSE presents its work worldwide

    CONSENSE presents its work worldwide

    A few weeks ago, Helen Tan, one of the ESRs at the TU/e, presented her research results at the 7th Biosensing Technology Conference in Sitges, Spain. She reported on her recent advances in the methodology of biofunctionalized substrate characterization using techniques, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), DNA Point Accumulation in Nanoscale Topography (DNA-PAINT), and Biosensing by Particle Motion (BPM).

    “Overall, I would say it was a fruitful trip — I learned a lot, gained a few connections, and at the same time, was able to convey what BPM is about and how I should approach my research question. :)”

    The goal of CONSENSE is to train a new generation of professionals in the field of biosensor technologies. For early-stage researchers, the opportunity of networking and receiving feedback is an essential part of the scientific process. Helen was able to learn a bit more regarding the general biosensing techniques that are being used at the moment. However, she also admits that there are not many technologies for continuous biosensing — the gap that the CONSENSE project addresses quite well.

    Helen is grateful for the opportunity to talk to quite a few people regarding her work — most attendees were really interested in the DNA-PAINT approach, a super-resolution localization microscopy (SMLM) technique, so she received some questions about the working principle.

    We wish Helen the best of luck in her work and hope to hear more about her results in the future!

    Author: Andris Jeminejs

  • Follow the CONSENSE ESRs on social media

    Follow the CONSENSE ESRs on social media

    We have set up social media channels specifically for the CONSENSE project to make it easier for interested audiences to follow the CONSENSE Early Stage Researchers. To find out what we are up to follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to receive updates.

  • CONSENSE meets in Israel

    CONSENSE meets in Israel

    After five months since the last meeting, the CONSENSE network met up again at The Weizmann Institute of Science (WI) in Israel. Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions the conference took place in a hybrid form so all members of CONSENSE could participate.

    The program commenced with a lecture from Professor Fleishman regarding reliable computational optimization of enzymes and binders. Professor Johnsson then presented the use of semi-synthetic protein sensors and lastly, Professor Gothelf shared his expertise in assays for the quantification of small molecules.

    As all members of CONSENSE come from a wide variety of backgrounds, these lectures open up great opportunities for expanding our knowledge in relevant methods and technologies as well open up chances for collaboration and discussions with other members of the network.

    CONSENSE ESRs in Israel

    As with the first meeting, ESRs then presented an update on their research projects. This was followed by questions, discussions and helpful suggestions from the other members of the network.  One major aim of CONSENSE is to train early-stage students and mold them into a new generation of professional researchers, specializing in the field of biosensing.

    To fulfil this aim, a number of workshops took place during this meeting in Israel, not only to develop scientific skills but also transferrable skills. Firstly, Professor Merkx discussed how to effectively publish research papers into journals; a valuable talk specially aimed at the ESRs who may not have yet published work of their own. Next, Miss Strehler and Miss Ciscato (accelCH) carried out a workshop on science communication and how to successfully target a particular audience. Lastly, Marc Scherer (ESR at WI) organized a workshop which provided an introduction on AlphaFold2, PROSS and FuncLib webservers for use in protein optimization. Although not all students are working with protein optimization, it was an eye-opening workshop and gave insight into the type of work Marc carries out on a daily basis. To complete the scientific program of this conference, the ESRs were given a tour of the laboratory facilities at WI.

    For the next few days during the social program, ESRs explored Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv. We enjoyed seeing the difference in culture, architecture and landscapes, and enjoyed the hot weather before returning to Europe. This conference was a fantastic scientific and cultural experience!

    Thank you, Marc, for organizing this unforgettable trip. Until next time!

    Authors: Emily Tsang and Claudia Scarpellini

  • 1st CONSENSE Week

    1st CONSENSE Week

    The first CONSENSE Week is taking place from 25-30 April 2022 in Rehovot, Israel. The event is hosted by CONSENSE beneficiary WI. Organised in a hybrid format, the ESRs will receive training on various scientific and transferable skills, as well as provide a presentation to the network about the progress of their individual research projects.