Education
Prof. Martine J. Smit studied Pharmacochemistry (1986-1991) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) and obtained her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology in 1995 on the regulation of histamine receptors at the VUA. She did a 3.5 year post-doc focusing on oncogenic signaling networks at the department of Pharmacology, at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York (lab Prof. R. Iyengar).
Research
The research of prof Smit explores modern concepts of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) (e.g. constitutive activity, endosomal signaling, oligomerisation, EV biology), focusing on targeting and understanding (oncogenic) signaling networks activated by human and viral chemokine receptors. This division has ample experience in drug discovery aspects of GPCRs and collaborate with leading pharmaceutical/biotech companies, resulting in several patents. In the last decade Smit has identified several nanobodies (llama-derived antibodies) targeting and modulating human and viral chemokine receptor function.
Personal and consortium grants
She has received a fellowship from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) (1999-2003), and obtained a NWO Vidi (2004) and Vici (2013) grant. Smit was involved in 3 TI Pharma projects and coordinator of a STW program on nanobodies (2011-2015) and co-PI of NWO TOPPUNT (7 ways to modulate 7TM receptors). Smit was project coordinator of the European Union's Horizon2020 MSCA Programme ITN project ONCORNET (Oncogenic GPCR Network of Excellence and Training)(2015-2019) and ONCORNET2.0 (2020-2024), European PhD training networks. Currently, she is heading the public private project (NWO-PPS TA) MAGNETIC (Multimeric Antibody formats targeting GPCR NETworks in leukemic cells), participating in a European EIC Pathfinder (UniSens) and running a ZonMW project together with the Amsterdam University Medical Center (AUMC).
Awards
Smit was awarded the Organon Award for Pharmacology (2007) and the Galenus Research Prize (2002).
More information about my research and publications can be found on my research profile.
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