Nynke Dekker

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Nynke Hester Dekker
Born (1971-04-02) 2 April 1971 (age 53)
Alma materLeiden University
Yale University
Harvard University
AwardsEPS Emmy Noether Distinction (2013)
Spinoza Prize (2020)
Scientific career
InstitutionsKavli Institute of Nanoscience
Delft University of Technology
École normale supérieure
ThesisGuiding atoms on a chip (1999)
WebsiteDekker Lab

Nynke Hester Dekker (pronounced [ˈninkə ˈɦɛstər ˈdɛkər]; born 2 April 1971) is a Dutch biophysicist who is 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[edit]

Dekker, daughter of a United Nations staff member, was born in Amsterdam.[1] She studied physics and applied mathematics in the United States.[2] In 1993, she received her bachelor's degree from Yale University where she worked alongside Mark A. Reed in applied physics.[2] She was a graduate student at Leiden University, where she graduated in physics.[2] In 1996, she received her master's degree in atomic physics from Harvard University.[citation needed] At Harvard, she completed her doctorate in nanotechnology, designing microchips that contained caesium atoms.[citation needed] She moved to Paris as a postdoctoral researcher at the École normale supérieure.[citation needed]

Research and career[edit]

In 2002, Dekker moved to Delft University of Technology, where she was made full professor in 2008.[2] Her research considers fundamental biological processes.[2] 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).[citation needed] Her early work investigated the enzyme Type I topoisomerase, which is involved in the replication of DNA and RNA.[3]

Dekker has developed a broad range of single-molecule techniques and nanoanalytical probes, including magnetic and optical tweezers and nanopores.[4] In particular, she developed new capabilities for optical tweezers, including the ability to measure torque.[5]

Dekker spent 2015 on sabbatical at the Francis Crick Institute,[5] 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.[1] 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.[citation needed] She was awarded the Spinoza Prize in 2020 for her molecular-level studies of how chemotherapy kills cancer cells.[6]

Awards and honours[edit]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Ralph M M Smeets; Ulrich F. Keyser; Diego Krapf; Meng-Yue Wu; Nynke H Dekker; Cees Dekker (1 January 2006). "Salt dependence of ion transport and DNA translocation through solid-state nanopores". Nano Letters. 6 (1): 89–95. Bibcode:2006NanoL...6...89S. doi:10.1021/NL052107W. ISSN 1530-6984. PMID 16402793. Wikidata Q57938707.
  • Ulrich F. Keyser; Bernard N. Koeleman; Stijn van Dorp; Diego Krapf; Ralph M. M. Smeets; Serge G. Lemay; Nynke H. Dekker; Cees Dekker (July 2006). "Direct force measurements on DNA in a solid-state nanopore". Nature Physics. 2 (7): 473–477. Bibcode:2006NatPh...2..473K. doi:10.1038/NPHYS344. ISSN 1745-2473. Wikidata Q57938666.
  • Stijn van Dorp; Ulrich F. Keyser; Nynke H. Dekker; Cees Dekker; Serge G. Lemay (29 March 2009). "Origin of the electrophoretic force on DNA in solid-state nanopores". Nature Physics. 5 (5): 347–351. Bibcode:2009NatPh...5..347V. doi:10.1038/NPHYS1230. ISSN 1745-2473. S2CID 49361956. Wikidata Q57938533.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Eleven AcademiaNet members receive ERC Advanced Grants". 2018-04-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e "About Nynke Dekker – Nynke Dekker Lab". Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  3. ^ "ESF EURYI award winner aims to stop cancer cells reading their own DNA : European Science Foundation". archives.esf.org. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  4. ^ a b "Nynke Dekker wins Physica Prize 2023". TU Delft. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  5. ^ a b "A life-long curiosity driven by substantive questions | NWO". www.nwo.nl. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  6. ^ a b "Spinoza Prize for TU Delft biophysicist Nynke Dekker". www.delta.tudelft.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  7. ^ a b "Prof. Nynke Dekker | NWO". www.nwo.nl. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  8. ^ Stafford2007-08-01T16:10:00+01:00, Ned. "Young scientists win million-Euro prizes". Chemistry World. Retrieved 2023-06-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "FYSICA 2014: winner of EPS Emmy Noether Distinction Nynke Dekker will give a lecture – European Physical Society (EPS)". www.eps.org. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  10. ^ "ERC Grants voor Nynke Dekker en Ibo van de Poel". TU Delft (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  11. ^ "Nynke Dekker verkozen tot lid van EMBO". TU Delft (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-06-11.
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