What sparked your passion for science?
My high school chemistry teacher sparked my passion for science! In her class, we did a lot of experiments - making soap, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, and of course reactions with a lot of fire. Making molecules is what got me into chemistry.
Can you tell us about your role at ProQR?
I am an Associate Director, Drug Substance Development and Manufacturing at ProQR. In this role, I am responsible for the production of the drug substance used in preclinical and clinical programs. This involves extensive process development to establish the most efficient and robust manufacturing process, while ensuring alignment with project timelines.
An important aspect of this position is maintaining a close collaboration with in-house manufacturing activities, integrating new insights gained during development into production, and vice versa. I also work closely with contract manufacturing organisations, ensuring external production activities run smoothly.
What do you enjoy most about working at ProQR?
I love the atmosphere and the friendly environment where you get to know everyone! People at ProQR are always happy to make time for you and help you out or have a chat at the coffee machine.
Besides that, the work ethic is great and I’ve experienced so many achievements during my time here. Producing our first Axiomer RNA editing oligonucleotide for initial preclinical studies was a highlight. Expanding our editing oligonucleotide production capacity has also been great to be a part of. When I started, we had one editing oligonucleotide synthesizer. Now, we have multiple fully equipped manufacturing labs and a large team working on development and production. As a manager, I also love watching my team grow and develop in their roles.
Are there any upcoming company milestones that you are particularly excited about?
Advancing drugs into the clinic is exciting and very rewarding. The strong results from our first clinical trial validate not only the platform, but also the expertise and dedication of the team who developed the manufacturing process for AX-0810.
I'm looking forward to the next compounds we bring into the clinic. New challenges are guaranteed, but that's half the fun.
How do you enjoy spending time outside of work?
My passion for chemistry extends beyond the 9 to 5 as I also love to experiment in the kitchen! Sourdough bread, fermenting and of course grilling on the BBQ. I try to keep active as much as possible by cycling, running and going to the gym. My favorite way to spend my free time is hanging out with my wife and two daughters!
Can you tell us about your role in the ProQR conference team?
The ProQR conference is a yearly event where we travel offsite as a company and take part in team building activities and workshops. I’m part of the team that organizes this event. Organizing the conference is very fun but also challenging as we piece together the event which brings together our entire, diverse company.
In our team of four, I like to call myself the “grumpy old man,” though the reality is far from that! As far as my role goes, I think I am good at bringing people together, bridging discussions and helping to make decisions.