Loes Kistemaker received NRS Travel Grant

Loes Kistemaker

Postdoc
Department of Molecular Pharmacology
University of Groningen

By receiving the NRS travel grant I got the opportunity to visit the BIO-Europe Spring conference, which took place in Paris, France. BIO-Europe is Europe's largest conference serving the global biotechnology industry.

This twice annual conference attracts universities as well as leading companies from biotech and pharma, and for me this was an excellent opportunity to meet several companies from all over the world, hear about the latest developments in the respiratory area and understand how public private partnerships may help respiratory research in the Netherlands. I want to focus my future career on this interaction between academia and industry, because I believe that this interaction is important for the development of new drugs for respiratory diseases.

Next to one-to-one meetings with potential partners, there were a lot of company presentations. Both helped me to understand the way companies think, what compounds are in the product pipeline and how partnerships and interactions between industry and academia can lead to successful drug development. In addition, this was a great opportunity to develop my personal skill, by means of knowledge, but also by communication and networking.

In conclusion, by participating in the BIO-Europe Spring conference, I learned about the latest developments in the respiratory area and I learned how partnerships between companies and universities may help to improve drug development programs. Importantly, this conference facilitated interactions with a lot of partners, thereby significantly improving my personal skills and network.