About me

I’m a PhD student in marine ecology, cat mom, vegan foodie and a sports enthusiast.

In January 2018, I graduated as a biologist at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. During my master studies I focussed on climate change issues and species interactions in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

After my graduation, I joined the department of Terrestrial Ecology at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), working as a field and laboratory assistant within the VICI project of Martijn Bezemer. Here, I worked on projects in which we studied how plants influence the soil biota in the rhizosphere, how these so-called soil legacy effects influence 1) the growth and chemical composition of other plants that later grow in that soil and 2) the above-ground insects that in turn depend on these plants. 

Later, I worked as a general research assistant with the department of Terrestrial Ecology, where I was involved in setting up and performing field- and greenhouse experiments, molecular analyses and the supervision of students.

Currently, I’m a PhD student at The University of Sydney and The University of New South Wales (UNSW) where I’ll still be working on plant-soil feedbacks, but this time underwater! In this PhD project I aim to understand how belowground processes (i.e. plant-sediment feedbacks (PSFs)) influence the health and functioning of seagrasses and whether and how these PSFs change under environmental stress. I ultimately hope to give advice on how and where PSFs can be best utilised to improve the success of seagrass restoration efforts now and in the future.