Research Analyst
MSc Kes Kloosterhuis
Research:
We use iPSC models to study the disease mechanisms underlying GNAO1 syndrome, which is a heterogeneous disease that can cause epilepsy, movement disorders, developmental delay or a combined phenotype. The use of human iPSCs allows to study protein functionality and interactions, while taking into account the patient-specific genetic background. My research will focus on developing hiPSC-derived neurons which express a selection of mutated proteins we want to study and identifying mutation-specific phenotypes using microelectrode array (MEA) electrophysiological recordings amongst other techniques. We hereby aim to validate our GNAO1 models and investigate their potential for phenotype-specific drug screening.
Curriculum Vitae:
For both my B.Sc. degree in Molecular Life Sciences and my M.Sc. degree in Neuroscience & Cognition, I studied at Utrecht University. During my Master program I carried out a 9-month internship in the synaptic physiology group of Prof. Dr. Corette Wierenga, studying interactions between postsynaptic CB1 receptors and HCN channels in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons using patch-clamp electrophysiology. Subsequently, I performed my final internship here at the cell & chemical biology department of the LUMC in the group of Harald Mikkers, also studying GNAO1 using a doxycycline inducible system to assess cellular localization of mutated Gao proteins. I am now happy to continue working with this same group as a research analyst.
