“My work at PamGene has always been data driven,” tells Rik de Wijn, data scientist and PamGene’s head of diagnostic assay services. De Wijn joined Pamgene in 2002 after completing a study in Chemistry and obtaining his PhD in the field of Biophysics. He accompanied the company on its transition from fully research driven start-up to today’s SME with an in-house application, the IOpener™, currently in late-stage development.
Understanding diseases
“My background is in cell biology. During my PhD I focused my research on rare genetic metabolic disorders affecting glycosylation. Since the broad genetic diversity makes it difficult to develop a common treatment, I studied the cellular logistics in glycosylation disorders to find a possible new angle for treatment. To do so I developed a new microscopic technique and used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to develop cells capable to reveal the glycosylation mechanism.”
At PamGene, Peter’s work will focus on supporting academic clients with getting the most out of the companies’ multiplex kinase activity technology. “There is a very nice parallel between my previous and current position, both are about unraveling disease mechanisms to understand and find possible new treatments for diseases. Since I’ve literally been in the position where my clients are, I’m able to offer them tailored support on how to implement our technology in their studies to gain the insights needed to take the next steps.”
Bioinformatics
Peter will also support Rik de Wijn, PamGene’s Head of Diagnostic Assay Services and Data Scientist, in the further development of PamGene’s bioinformatics. “As you can imagine we generate a tremendous amount of data by analyzing our multiplex kinase activity arrays. I’m really looking forward to, together with Rik, dive deeper into this data and to look for possible new opportunities that will support scientists in their work in unraveling disease mechanisms.”