The Northen Lab recently hosted two interns from the Netherlands’ Wageningen University, Michelle Van Winden and Cathelijne Lamboo. Our lab’s connection with Wageningen University began when 40 PhD students from the Microbiology and the Systems and Synthetic Biology Departments visited the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Joint Genome Institute in June 2022 for a single day symposium. A connection was made and soon we shared available internship positions with master students. This resulted in welcoming Michelle and Cathelijne in the spring of 2023 to our lab where they spent the four months working alongside our team. Vlastimil Novak mentored Michelle on a project focused on bacteriophage-microbe-plant interactions, while Markus de Raad, mentored Cathelijne on a project focused on which soil metabolites are preferentially being consumed by soil microbes. We’re excited to announce that we’re looking forward to welcoming new interns from Wageningen University year round so stay tuned for more exciting collaborations! If you’re interested in an internship at the Northen Lab, check out our project descriptions here and feel free to contact Markus de Raad ([email protected]).
A message from Michelle and Cathelijne about their work here at Northen Lab and their experiences visiting the Bay Area is provided below.
“In my time here I’ve worked a lot with bacteria, plants and phages. I’ve tested several different exogenous compounds on both bacteria and phages to the influence these compounds could have on the growth and development of these microbes. I applied to this position because I was interested in microbiome research, and the project seemed very interesting. I also thought that EcoFAB would be something cool to work with, and different from what I was used to doing. In my four months here I feel like I have learned a lot, and that I have been able to sharpen my lab skills and writing skills. Other than that, my time here has been awesome. Berkeley and the whole bay area is very nice, and I’ve been able to do a lot of fun stuff and eat a lot of good food :). After this internship I will graduate, and start looking into what I want to do in the future.”
– Michelle Van Winden
”During my time at the Berkeley lab I have gained experience working with bacteria and exometabolomics. I’ve tested the effects of supplementation on bacterial growth and the utilization of these supplements by the bacteria. I applied for this position because I was interested in broadening my knowledge on microbial research and the project allowed me to gain knowledge on techniques that could also be applied in other fields such as the medical one. In the four months that I have been here I learned a lot, including LCMS analysis which I found particularly interesting, and I have been able to further improve my lab and writing skills. I loved my time in Berkeley and I have had the privilege to see many different places and do a lot. I want to thank everyone at the lab for all the recommendations and the memories we have made together. I will hopefully be able to take everything I have learned in Berkeley and apply it in the future.”
– Cathelijne Lamboo
