A personal touch of Gaby Eliesen

16 November 2017

My name is Gaby Eliesen, I’m Dutch and currently working as a PhD candidate at the Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology, theme Renal disorders.

1. When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? Can you tell us something about your child years. 

I grew up in a small town in the Achterhoek, where the nearest supermarket is at a 4 km distance, but that didn’t keep me from having big dreams of what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to become an orca trainer and if that didn’t work out then I wanted to be a translator or a stewardess. 

2. What was your previous academic training, where did you study and why that study?

Choosing where and what to study was extremely difficult to me. Eventually I chose Biomedical Sciences in Nijmegen because, at the time, I got very enthusiastic when I joined a student for a day.  

3. The RIMLS motto is: ‘Today’s molecules for tomorrow’s medicine’. What does this mean for you? 

Quite a lot. I look at how different drugs are being handled by the placenta and whether they may interfere with all sorts of molecular processes in this particular organ. I hope that in the future we can take these kinds of data into account when prescribing drugs to pregnant women. 

4. Who is your great example as scientists? And please give a motivation why.

I guess Hildegard von Bingen, as she was one of the first women in the middle ages who can be regarded as a scientist/philosopher.

5. Which research discovery that you have made has made you most proud? 

During my bachelor’s internship I tried a few novel immunohistochemical markers. Because of one of these markers, my supervisor had to change the diagnosis for a particular patient. He took me to the Professor’s office and made me explain why the diagnosis that he initially set was wrong. I was very proud, that something I had performed myself had such consequences. 

6. Given unlimited finance what experiment would you perform?

I would hire some people and give them (and myself as well) a permanent contract. In that way I could expand this research project and it didn’t have to be finished within four years. 

7. What does your working area (desk, office) look like and what does it say about you (or your research)?

My desk is somewhere in between neat and messy. I like things to have some structure, but that often fails since I can be really chaotic as well. 

8. Nominate a colleague to be in the spotlight and what would you like to ask him or her?

Manon Engels, since you and I share some remarkable “talents”, I would like to ask: What is the most clumsiest lab-related mistake that you have ever made? 

10. What type of person are you, quick insights:

a) Mac or PC?                                : Mac
b) Theater or cinema?                 : Both
c) Dine out or dine in?                 : Dine in
d) Ferrari or Fiat?                         : Fiat, but Tesla should be incorporated in this question
e) Shopaholic or chocoholic?     : Chocolate
f) Culture or Nature                     : Both