Dr. Nienke Vrisekoop is Associate Professor at the Center of Translational Immunology at the UMCU. Nienke Vrisekoop’s core research interest is immune cell dynamics in health and disease.  

As a postdoc with Dr. Ron Germain (NIH USA) she visualized the immune response in living mice using a specialized 2-photon microscope. With Prof. Van Rheenen (Hubrecht Institute) she employed imaging windows to longitudinally visualize immune responses in the same mouse. 

In 2013 she started as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Respiratory Medicine in the Center of Translational Immunology of the UMCU where she studies neutrophils that are the first responders of the immune system. These immune cells can recognize and engulf both micro-organisms and foreign matter such as microplastics that penetrate the body. She now focuses in her laboratory on the mechanisms that neutrophil employ to deal with these threats.  

Her work on microplastics started in a TA-COAST consortium in 2014. A ZonMw Microplastics & Health breakthrough grant allowed the continuation of this research. She is currently working on the immunological health effects of microplastics in MOMENTUM and a H2020 consortium POLYRISK. 

Contact information

E-mail:
n.vrisekoop@umcutrecht.nl

Address for correspondence:
Mail room KC02.085.2
Lundlaan 6
3584 EA UTRECHT