Meet Sander Annema

Sander Annema

Now I will be working on the development of a compact synthetic cell-cycle clock in a cell-free system at the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute with Dr. Julia Kamenz.

Heya! My name is Sander Annema.

Born and raised in the far north of the Netherlands, I started my academic career with a Bachelor’s in Biotechnology at the Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden. Here I worked on a variety of projects, including the development of medicine-delivery systems using supercharged elastin-like proteins for the formation of nanocapsules, the restoration of polyketide synthase genes in Penicillium chrysogenum for the discovery of novel antimicrobial molecules, and the analysis of dose-response effects of genotoxic compounds on Caenorhabditis elegans for the detection of toxic molecules in water.

With my passion for bioengineering and synthetic biology I followed up with a pre-master’s in Biology, and a master’s in Biomolecular Sciences (specializing in chemical biology) at the University of Groningen. Here I leveraged non-canonical amino acids to expand the variability of antimicrobial nisin libraries, joined the 2022 iGEM (international Genetically Engineered Machine) competition to develop a novel avian influenza prevention system, and identified proteomics alterations in bile-resistant and sensitive bacterial strains isolated from olives to grant insights in genes involved in bile resistance.

Now I will be working on the development of a compact synthetic cell-cycle clock in a cell-free system at the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute with Dr. Julia Kamenz.

Outside of work I enjoy painting miniatures, playing the electric and acoustic guitar, and Dungeons and Dragons.