Science Faculty PhD Council

Who are in the council?

• Athena Institute

  Luka Gudek
  Room: WN A-653
  l.gudek@vu.nl
  
  Who am I?
  My name is Luka, I am a PhD candidate at the Athena Institute where I research public engagement and multi-stakeholder processes within the area of food system transformation. My academic background is in Political Science, which I studied and practiced in Zagreb, Utrecht, and Brussels, before settling in Amsterdam at the VU.
  
  What is my research about?
  My research focuses on the role of public engagement and multi-stakeholder engagement in facilitating large-scale sustainability transitions. I am conducting this research in a transdisciplinary, action-oriented way, through the CLEVERFOOD project.
  
  Why am I a member of the PhD council?
  Through participating in the council, I am supporting the institutional position on the PhD candidates on a Faculty level, as well as making the perspectives of the Athena PhD candidates heard. It is also always interesting for me to better understand the governance structures around us, in this case the PhD Council and the Beta Faculty.

• Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences

  Rosa Randoe
  Room: O2 building 03E53
  r.e.randoe@vu.nl

  Who am I?
  My name is Rosa Randoe, and I am a PhD student at the Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences department at the VU. My background is in molecular (neuro)biology, which I now apply in a more translational way through pharmaceutical research.

  What is my research about?
  My project is focused on the deorphanization of a G-protein coupled receptor (or GPCR) involved in a rare neurological disorder that presents itself mainly in the white matter of the brains of young children. Through finding modulators of this GPCR, I hope to elucidate the cellular pathways it is involved in.

  Why am I a member of a PhD council?
  I believe the VU should be a place where everyone can feel heard and seen, and I want to contribute to that by actively standing up for the PhD students in my department and others.

• Computer Science

  Tom Humbert
  Room: NU:10th floor
  t.humbert@vu.nl

• Earth Sciences

  Fleur van Crimpen
  Room: W&N R350
  f.c.j.van.crimpen@vu.nl
  

  Who am I?
  I am Fleur and I am currently doing a PhD on coastal erosion along the Canadian Beaufort sea coast at the department Earth sciences. I have a background in geo-ecological dynamics and earth sciences.

  What is my research about?
  For my research I’m looking at the transport of carbon from thawing permafrost along eroding coasts in the Canadian Arctic. With the use of hydrodynamic fractionation we try to mimic the transport within the marine system, by doing so we try to understand what part will degrade and what will end up on the sea floor.

  Why do I love being a member of this Ph.D. council?
  Within the council I want to be an advocate for everyone who struggles with the combination of fieldwork, lab work and the never ending writing part. But besides that the VU should be a space where everyone feels safe and respected, being part of the council will give me the opportunity to fight for a better support and guidance within the VU.

• A-life

  Ingrida Bagdonaite
  Room: O2 building
  i.bagdonaite@vu.nl

  Who am I?
  My name is Ingrida, I am a PhD candidate at A-LIFE, department of Chemistry for Environment and Health. My background is in Analytical Chemistry.

  What is my research about?
  My research is focused on development of a (bio)analytical platform for hazard assessment of transformation products in water treatment. Our aim is to link the chemical and hazard space of transformation products by understanding under which conditions they are formed and their potential (in-vitro) toxicity. 

  Why am I a member of a PhD council?
  I want to contribute to the well-being of other PhD students, understand common struggles and help find solutions.

• Health Sciences

  Vacant

• Institute for Environmental Studies

  Michiel Ingels
  room: NU-building 8th floor
  m.w.ingels@vu.nl

  Who am I?
  I am Michiel Ingels, I am doing a PhD at the Environmental Economics department of the Institute for Environmental studies. I have a background in econometrics and climate econometrics in particular.

  What is my research about?
  I focus on the increasing flood risk as the result of climate change and socioeconomic development. In this realm I mainly focus on ways we can adapt and insure against these risks, in order to make society more resilient against the changing climate. I work on a model that simulates insurance uptake and adaptation effort in Europe under different climate change and socioeconomic scenarios. 

  Why am I a member of the PhD council?
  The Beta PhD council is a great way to both improve the well-being of PhD students and foster potential synergies between the various departments in the Beta faculty. 

• Mathematics

  Lies Beers
  Room: NU-building 9th floor
  e.g.m.beers@vu.nl

  Who am I?
  I am Lies Beers, a PhD Student in the mathematics department, where I work on spectral theory of graphs and hypergraphs.

  What is my research about?
  I study graphs, which consist of points, some of which are connected by lines. I study these graphs using linear algebra. More specifically, I try to find connections between properties of a graph and the spectrum of a certain matrix associated with this graph. I also study hypergraphs, which are a generalization of graphs.

  Why am I a member of the PhD council?
  By being part of the Beta PhD council, I hope to positively contribute to the position and well-being of PhD students in our faculty and my department.

• Neurosciences

  Vacant

• Physics and Astronomy

  Bram Hoogland
  WN building
  b.j.hoogland@vu.nl

  I am Bram! I am a first year PhD student in Physics of Life, with my research focussing on understanding collective cell migration, such as in cases of cancer metastasis. I joined the PhD council because I found the VU to be a maze of rules and as a starting PhD it can be difficult to find your way around. I hope that for new people starting it will be less of a hassle!