I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious [Albert Einstein]

Where are you from?

I am originally from Belgium, a rather small country in Western Europe. Belgium is a founding member of the EU and hosts the headquarters of the EU in its capital city Brussels. The country has three official languages (Flemish, French and German), a wide selection of beers and some famous chocolates.

I grew up in a little town in Flemish Brabant which is located in Flanders (north part of Belgium) and basically composed a church and five main streets. I spent my childhood in this rural area away from busy society, surrounded by fields and lots of open spaces.

Where are you now?

I gradually moved away from my rural home town area, first to Lier (a city near Antwerp) and then to Ghent. After these ‘smaller’ moves, I jumped into a bigger adventure and moved abroad. My first three years were spent in Lincoln, a lovely little city in the East Midlands of England. Another jump followed at the end of September 2016 when I moved to London.

What did you do in the past?

After high school I decided to get my Bachelor in Nursing. As a result of my bachelor dissertation, I got interested in research near the end of my nursing degree. I decided to get a Master’s degree which provided me with more understanding of research.

Following my Master’s, I worked at Ghent University for a year as a research assistant before moving to the UK for my PhD. I recently started as a postdoctoral researcher in London.

Although I feel worryingly comfortable in academia, I do try to build in some leisure activities. I spent most of my childhood in a gymnasium pretending I had balance and flexibility. When I came to the realisation that I would probably struggle to become a decent gymnast, I thought athletics was something worth trying. The athletics path did not last for long and before I knew it I was mostly filling my time with crafts, writing, listening to music and reading. For the last couple years I do like to take a few risks on the football pitch.

What are you doing now?

Whilst I am finishing my PhD at the University of Lincoln, I am also fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to work as a postdoctoral researcher at the University College London (UCL). This allows me to keep doing what I love and what I am passionate about!

Information on my research activity in Lincoln can be found at the University of Lincoln Staff Page and the CaHRU website. My research activity within UCL will hopefully soon be listed at the UCLIC website. Other updates are also provided on Twitter.

I took a step back from crafting for a while, particularly during my PhD, but my interest and need is rapidly growing again. The same can be said for my writing bug. So, hopefully the ‘creative outlet’ page will soon have some more regular updates.

Do get in touch if you would like to know more!