Meet student Maarten Swart
I am a full-time 1st year DPhil student at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in Linda Troeberg's group, focusing on heparan sulfate proteoglycans on macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis.
My research involves tissue culture of primary macrophages, qPCR, flow cytometry, immunoblotting, mass spectrometry and histochemistry.
Before I started my DPhil in Oxford, I obtained a master in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences in Leiden (the Netherlands) and specialised in immunology. During my master I did a research project at the Kennedy Institute and I liked the research atmosphere so much that I applied for my DPhil here.
Furthermore, NDORMS allows me to expand my knowledge in a more broader context due to the weekly lectures on different immunological topics.
In my spare time I am often in the swimming pool, playing the piano or attend events organised by the middle common room in the Queen's College.