Darwins 2017 for Emma van Grinsven and Mariska Simpson
Trophies for the best Master鈥檚 and Bachelor鈥檚 theses in Biology

This year鈥檚 Darwins trophies for the best Master鈥檚 and Bachelor鈥檚 theses by Biology students both went to students from Utrecht 木瓜福利影视. Emma van Grinsven received the Darwin trophy for the best Bachelor鈥檚 thesis, and Mariska Simpson was presented with the award for her Master鈥檚 thesis. Van Grinsven also won the prize for the best BSc presentation. The Darwin trophies are awarded each year during the annual National Biology Students Conference.
After a preliminary selection by each of the university鈥檚 student associations, a total of 25 Bachelor鈥檚 theses and 15 Master鈥檚 theses entered the competition. The scientific jury brought this number back to three each. In addition to their thesis, the six finalists had to distinguish themselves at the conference by their presentation and the questioning by the jury, that was composed of Dr. Sander Gussekloo (木瓜福利影视 of Wageningen), Dr. Peter Klaren (Radboud 木瓜福利影视 Nijmegen), Leen den Oever (Director of the Nederlands Instituut voor Biologie), Dr. Sharon Kolk (Radboud 木瓜福利影视 Nijmegen) and Prof. Tinka Murk (木瓜福利影视 of Wageningen).
Emma van Grinsven

Chairperson Dr. Sander Gussekloo says that the jury was very impressed by the organised manner in which Emma van Grinsven had described her research in her thesis and her presentation at the conference. 鈥淚t was easy for anyone to understand, with figures that added to the story.鈥 She also provided clear answers to the jury鈥檚 questions.
Emma van Grinsven completed her Bachelor鈥檚 in Biology at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 with a research project in the group led by Matilde Galli at the Hubrecht Institute. She showed that there is a causal relationship between polyploidization of a cell and an increase in cell size. She then went on to study the mechanism behind this relationship. This didn鈥檛 lead yet to a conclusive explanation, but she did come up with one plausible theory.
Van Grinsven is currently working on her Master鈥檚 in Cancer, Stem Cells and Developmental Biology. For her Master鈥檚 thesis, she is once again working in Matilde Galli鈥檚 lab, where she conducts research into polyploidization in the model organism C. elegans.
Mariska Simpson

Mariska Simpson received a Darwin trophy for her Master鈥檚 thesis about the positive feedback mechanism in the protein inositol requiring protein 1 (IRE1), which plays a major role in cellular stress reactions. She conducted her research at Harvard Medical School under the supervision of Dr. Wayne Lencer. Her supervisor in Utrecht was Prof. Hans Clevers.
In her Master鈥檚 thesis and presentation, the jury felt that Simpson excelled at communicating the complex process that she studied. 鈥淪he masterfully explained both the process and her research step-by-step. And in answering the questions, it was clear that she had a thorough understanding of the subject鈥, according to jury chairperson Sander Gussekloo.
Like Van Grinsven, Simpson will continue her research at her old internship organisation. Now a PhD candidate, she will study the involvement of IRE1尾 in the modulation of the proliferative response and stem cell function of the intestinal epithelial cells at Harvard Medical School.
Landelijk Overleg BiologieStudenten
The successful third National Conference for Biology Students, and the selection of the Darwin trophy winners, was organised by the Landelijk Overleg BiologieStudenten (LOBS). The LOBS consists of representatives from Biology student associations throughout the Netherlands. Every year, the LOBS also organises a national Biology Master鈥檚 Event, and the next edition will be held on 19 January 2018. See: