Nynke Dekker Explained

Nynke Hester Dekker
Birth Date:2 April 1971
Workplaces:Kavli Institute of Nanoscience
Delft University of Technology
École normale supérieure
University of Oxford
Alma Mater:Leiden University
Yale University
Harvard University
Thesis Title:Guiding atoms on a chip
Thesis Url:https://worldcat.org/en/title/49825313
Thesis Year:1999
Awards:EPS Emmy Noether Distinction (2013)
Spinoza Prize (2020)
Website:Dekker Lab

Nynke Hester Dekker (pronounced as /nl/; born 2 April 1971) is a Dutch biophysicist who since 2024 has been Professor of Biophysics at the Department of Physics, University of Oxford.[1] Before this she was Professor of Molecular Biophysics at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology. Dekker studies individual DNA and RNA molecules and how they interact with proteins in bacteria, viruses and eukaryotes. She described how virus proteins build errors into the virus RNA of viruses. In 2020, she was awarded the Spinoza Prize.

Early life and education

Dekker, daughter of a United Nations staff member, was born in Amsterdam.[2] She studied physics and applied mathematics in the United States.[3] In 1993, she received her bachelor's degree from Yale University where she worked alongside Mark A. Reed in applied physics. She was a graduate student at Leiden University, where she graduated in physics. In 1996, she received her master's degree in atomic physics from Harvard University. At Harvard, she completed her doctorate in nanotechnology, designing microchips that contained caesium atoms. She moved to Paris as a postdoctoral researcher at the École normale supérieure.

Research and career

In 2002, Dekker moved to Delft University of Technology, where she was made full professor in 2008. Her research considers fundamental biological processes. Cellular function involves DNA replication, a robust biological mechanism with a low error rate. Dekker looks to understand the action of molecules and proteins essential for cellular processes (e.g. copying and translating DNA, repairing errors). Her early work investigated the enzyme Type I topoisomerase, which is involved in the replication of DNA and RNA.[4]

Dekker has developed a broad range of single-molecule techniques and nanoanalytical probes, including magnetic and optical tweezers and nanopores.[5] In particular, she developed new capabilities for optical tweezers, including the ability to measure torque.[6]

Dekker spent 2015 on sabbatical at the Francis Crick Institute, where she decided to switch focus to the complex biomolecular processes involved with chromatin replication, which was supported by a ERC Advanced Grant in 2018. Nuclei containing cells called Eukaryotes contain chromatin, a complex of DNA and proteins, which must also be replicated.

Dekker has uncovered how virus proteins insert errors into the viral RMA, which enable viral mutation that protects them from an evolving environment. She was awarded the Spinoza Prize in 2020 for her molecular-level studies of how chemotherapy kills cancer cells.[7]

Awards and honours

Selected publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Professor Nynke Dekker joins University of Oxford . Department of Physics . . 21 October 2024.
  2. Web site: 2018-04-17 . Eleven AcademiaNet members receive ERC Advanced Grants .
  3. Web site: About Nynke Dekker – Nynke Dekker Lab . 2023-06-11 . en-US.
  4. Web site: ESF EURYI award winner aims to stop cancer cells reading their own DNA : European Science Foundation . 2023-06-11 . archives.esf.org.
  5. Web site: Nynke Dekker wins Physica Prize 2023 . 2023-06-11 . TU Delft . en-US.
  6. Web site: A life-long curiosity driven by substantive questions NWO . 2023-06-11 . www.nwo.nl . en.
  7. Web site: Spinoza Prize for TU Delft biophysicist Nynke Dekker . 2023-06-11 . www.delta.tudelft.nl . nl.
  8. Web site: Prof. Nynke Dekker NWO . 2023-06-11 . www.nwo.nl . en.
  9. Web site: Stafford2007-08-01T16:10:00+01:00 . Ned . Young scientists win million-Euro prizes . 2023-06-11 . Chemistry World . en.
  10. Web site: FYSICA 2014: winner of EPS Emmy Noether Distinction Nynke Dekker will give a lecture – European Physical Society (EPS) . 2023-06-11 . www.eps.org.
  11. Web site: ERC Grants voor Nynke Dekker en Ibo van de Poel . 2023-06-11 . TU Delft . nl-NL.
  12. Web site: Nynke Dekker verkozen tot lid van EMBO . 2023-06-11 . TU Delft . nl-NL.

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