Master Students

Who are we?
In January 2000, Ineke Braakman, chair of the Department, was appointed professor at the Chemistry Faculty in Utrecht. She previously worked at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam. Recently, Henk Tabak has joined the Department as a guest investigator. He previously was chair of the Department of Biochemistry at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam. Since September 2004, Stefan Rüdiger has joined the Department as Assistant Professor. He previously worked as a research fellow with Professor Sir Alan Fersht at Cambridge University in the UK.

Lab members have backgrounds in Biology, Medical Biology, or Chemistry, which is representative for the multidisciplinary nature of the research. Accordingly, we welcome Master students and PhD students from various faculties and disciplines.

The lab
We occupy laboratory spaces at the seventh floor in the east wing of the Kruytgebouw. In 2000, the lab was newly renovated after our own design (by the group members) with support from the technical, biosafety, radiation safety and arbo- & milieu experts in the Faculty and the University. Because the lab is qualified for radioactivity work at C-level, and for biosafety work at VMT- and C1-levels, every group member has his/her bench in the same lab space. The result is that communication between group members is optimal, irrespective of the nature of the project. Continuous interactions in offices and labs generate the best scientific and collaborative atmosphere.

Master student projects
We do not offer ready-made student projects for you to browse through. Why not? Because every student project is a subproject of the work of an aio or post-doc and this changes all the time. Browse through our lab’s website to find out what are our major research questions. For students, smaller questions will be derived, such that a project is devised that should be doable in the planned time. You will realize that our lab deals with many safety issues: not only chemical safety, but also radiological and biological safety. Still, students at all levels can come and work in the lab. Everyone will be supervised by an experienced lab member, and will be taught how to work with radioactivity, with recombinant organisms and especially: how to work safely. A radiation safety diploma can be obtained in addition. Because it takes some time to learn and get control over the techniques we use, our lab is better suited for the longer projects than for the shorter ones.

Long Internship (stage): 9 months
In the specialization the students have the opportunity to more independently participate in the current research of one of the three programs of the department. The supervision is carried out by a permanent staff member, a post-doc, or a Ph.D. student. Report presentation comprises a final written report of the student's activities and a weekly oral explanation of progress during the groups' work discussion of the specific subsection. Additionally, a treatise on a relevant subject based on literature research is written. The lecture may comprise the results of the research work or the content of the treatise. The theory component may contain two examinations based on section-specific topics and one examination based on a related topic, but besides section-specific topics, Bijvoet courses can be followed (e.g. in mass spectrometry or NMR spectroscopy) as well.

Short Internship (stage): 3 months
Students participate in one of the ongoing research programs of the department, both in a theoretical and practical sense, under the supervision of a permanent staff member, a post-doc, or a Ph.D. student. Report presentation comprises a final written report of the student's activities and a weekly oral explanation of progress during the groups' work discussion of the specific subsection. The theory component comprises an examination of a topic directly related to the research of the selected subsection.

PhD positions
For PhD positions currently available check our vacancies.

How to get in touch?
If you are interested to do an internship (stage) in our laboratory, it is most efficient if you make an appointment via the Department's secretary office