- Professor Target and Systems Biochemistry in the division of Medicinal Chemistry
Research
The research of prof Smit focuses on novel concepts of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) (e.g. constitutive activity, endosomal signaling, dimerisation, EV biology) and targeting/understanding of (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). Smit was co-PI of NWO TOPPUNT (7 ways to modulate 7TM receptors) and project coordinator of the European Union's Horizon2020 MSCA Programme ITN project ONCORNET (Oncogenic GPCR Network of Excellence and Training)(2015-2019). Currently, she is heading the public private project (NWO-PPS TA) MAGNETIC (Multimeric Antibody formats targeting GPCR NETworks in leukemic cells) (2020-2025) and is coordinator of Horizon2020 MSCA Programme ITN project ONCORNET2.0 (2020-2024), a European PhD training network.
Awards
Smit was awarded the Organon Award for Pharmacology (2007) and the Galenus Research Prize (2002).
Education
Prof. Martine J. Smit studied Pharmacochemistry (1986-1991) at the VU Universtiy in Amsterdam and obtained her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology/Medicinal Chemistry in 1995 on the regulation of histamine receptors at the VU University Amsterdam. She did a 3.5 year post-doc focusing on oncogenic signaling networks at the dept of Pharmacology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York (lab Prof. R. Iyengar).
