Laura Claessens

Experience

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  Student lacrosse club L.L.V. Leicrosse

  Nov 2012 - Jul 2014

  Secretary

  During my study program, I did committee work as secretary of the first board of student lacrosse club L.L.V. Leicrosse. Tasks included managing of memberships, taking minutes of meetings and communicating with the members and other parties involved. Being part of the first board, we also had a lot of extra responsibilities outside of our functions regarding officially setting up the association. I was also part of the introduction committee in 2014, organizing a 1-month trial/introduction period for new students, including lacrosse practices and social activities. Show less

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  Leiden University Medical Center

  Mar 2013 - Aug 2013

  Project title: 'Properties of HLA Antibodies in Kidney Transplant Recipients'. Objectives were to develop and optimize a novel ELISA-based assay to determine the avidity of HLA antibodies in kidney transplant recipients and whether there was a correlation with allograft rejection. This project was my first experience in a research department and reinforced my enthusiasm for academia and biomedical sciences. This resulted in an extension of my internship project as student assistant at the department. Grade: 9 Show less

  • Student Assistant

    Jul 2013 - Aug 2013

  • Research Intern

    Mar 2013 - Jun 2013
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  Leiden University Medical Center

  Nov 2013 - Mar 2014

  Research Intern

  Project title: 'TCRαβ-CD3 Transfer into Natural Killer Cells'. Objectives were to assess whether natural killer cells are a good alternative cell population to use for T-cell receptor gene transfer instead of T lymphocytes in adoptive immunotherapy against haematological malignancies. Grade: 8

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  Yale School of Medicine

  Feb 2015 - Sept 2015

  Research Intern

  Project title: 'Targeting a Cellular Protease Essential for Flavivirus Replication'. Objectives were to identify the cellular protease responsible for flavivirus NS1-2A cleavage by siRNA knockdown and CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screening. Scholarships: LUF International Study Fund (Leiden University Fund); Jo Keur Fund (Leiden University Medical Center); Curatorenfund (Leiden University); Minerva Scholarship Fund (Minerva Scholarship Fund Leiden); LUSTRA+ (Leiden University). Awards: Second prize Janneke Fruin-Helb Grant 2015. Grant for best written proposal for a project abroad for the LUF International Study Fund (Leiden University Fund).Grade: 9.2 Show less

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  Aethon.nl

  Apr 2016 - Apr 2016

  Floor support Electronic Patient Record System

  For this temporary project, I provided part-time floor support during the implementation of a new electronic patient record system ‘HiX’ at the LUMC and UMCU. We worked together in teams and provided the link between users at departments, including medical doctors, nurses and secretaries, and the HiX project management. Tasks included assisting users by answering their questions, reporting issues to the system helpdesk, reporting system updates back to the users and supplying them with informative tools. Show less

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  Leiden University Medical Center

  Jul 2016 - Jun 2024

  PhD in Molecular Cell Biology in the group of Prof. Dr. Alfred Vertegaal, with a focus on Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier (SUMO) signal transduction. Projects involved researching the role of SUMO (de)-conjugation and SUMO-chain signaling in maintaining genome stability, as well as (novel) modes of non-covalent SUMO interactions. Work mainly involved mass spectrometry-based proteomic screenings and mechanistic follow-up studies, requiring various molecular biology and biochemistry techniques.Highlighted publications: - SUMO proteases: from cellular functions to disease. Claessens LA, Vertegaal ACO. Trends Cell Biol. 2024 Feb 6:S0962-8924(24)00002-3. doi: 10.1016/j.tcb.2024.01.002.- SENP6 regulates localization and nuclear condensation of DNA damage response proteins by group deSUMOylation. Claessens LA, Verlaan-de Vries M, de Graaf IJ, Vertegaal ACO. Nat Commun. 2023 Sep 22;14(1):5893. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41623-w.- Global non-covalent SUMO interaction networks reveal SUMO-dependent stabilization of the non-homologous end joining complex. González-Prieto R, Eifler-Olivi K, Claessens LA, Willemstein E, Xiao Z, Talavera Ormeno CMP, Ovaa H, Ulrich HD, Vertegaal ACO.Cell Rep. 2021 Jan 26;34(4):108691. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108691.PMID: 33503430 Conferences and meetings: - Short communication at EMBO workshop 2023 'SUMOylation: From discovery to translation'. - Short communication at Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium 2023, awarded with a travel grant.- Oral presentation at bi-monthly DNA repair meeting Leiden-Rotterdam.- Poster presentation at EMBO workshop 'Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins in health and disease 2022'.- Short communication at NWO chains 2021 and 2022.- Short communication at 9th Proteasome and autophagy congress 2021, awarded with a travel grant.Teaching: - Supervision of HLO student for a 9-month lab internship. - Supervision of students during practical assignments. Show less PhD student in Type 1 Diabetes immunology in the research group of Dr. Bart Roep, section Autoimmunity.Project involved finalizing and statistically analyzing a patient dataset with a focus on clinical, immunological and genetic heterogeneity. The work has resulted in a publication. I decided to switch to my current PhD position which aligned better with my ambitions and the skill set that I wanted to develop.Publications: - Clinical and genetic correlates of islet-autoimmune signatures in juvenile-onset type 1 diabetes. Claessens LA, Wesselius J, van Lummel M, Laban S, Mulder F, Mul D, Nikolic T, Aanstoot HJ, Koeleman BPC, Roep BO. Diabetologia. 2020 Feb;63(2):351-361. doi: 10.1007/s00125-019-05032-3. Epub 2019 Nov 21.PMID: 31754749 - Abnormal islet sphingolipid metabolism in type 1 diabetes. Holm LJ, Krogvold L, Hasselby JP, Kaur S, Claessens LA, Russell MA, Mathews CE, Hanssen KF, Morgan NG, Koeleman BPC, Roep BO, Gerling IC, Pociot F, Dahl-Jørgensen K, Buschard K. Diabetologia. 2018 Jul;61(7):1650-1661. doi: 10.1007/s00125-018-4614-2. Epub 2018 Apr 18.PMID: 29671030Conferences and meetings: - Short communication at Wadden-symposium 2017 ‘Precision medicine: towards personalized therapies'. Show less

  • PhD student

    Sept 2018 - Jun 2024

  • PhD student

    Jul 2016 - Aug 2018
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  LUSV Badminton

  Sept 2017 - Jun 2019

  Board Member

  Board member of the student badminton club LUSV Badminton of Leiden University. Responsibilities included coordinating the regional competition with the national badminton association as competition contact person and secretarial tasks.

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  Wellcome Sanger Institute

  Jul 2024 - now

  Postdoctoral Research Fellow