We are an interdisciplinary group interested in the role of membrane proteins, especially ion channels, in cellular (mis-) communication leading to disease, e.g., cancer and nervous system disorders. While we generate fundamental knowledge on the functioning of ion channels, we also re-design them to perform novel tasks, such as acting as a remote-controlled valve in nanodevices, as a detector in sensors, or as a tool to interfere with bioelectrical signals. Our toolbox includes molecular biology, synthetic biology, biophysics, and various patch clamp electrophysiology tools.
Currently, we are working on:
- Bioelectrical signaling of cells at different (patho-)physiological conditions.
- Identifying differentially expressed ion channels and membrane proteins in neuroblastoma tumor cells and their tumor-derived extracellular vesicles.
- Tumor-derived extracellular vesicle engineering for cancer diagnosis and nanotechnology applications.
- Elucidating a molecular switching mechanism in AMPA receptors in Purkinje neurons activated during motor learning . (Read more)
- Deciphering the time-resolved cellular communication between neuroblastoma tumor cells with bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells leading to therapy resistance.
- Mechanistic understanding of mutations in a voltage-gated potassium channel (Kv4.3) in Purkinje neurons, leading to spinocerebellar ataxia type 19/21. (Read more)
Latest news...
2025: papers submitted
- Hugo P. Markus#, 1, Edwin de Jong#, 1, Manousos Makridakis2, Maria Frantzi3, Armağan Koçer1 Identifying protein surface markers on extracellular vesicles from neuroblastoma cells cultured with native serum. 1 Department of Bioelectric Signaling and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands2; Center of Systems Biology, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece; 3 Department of Biomarker Research, mosaiques diagnostics GmbH, Hannover, Germany
- Edwin de Jong#, 1, Andrea Catte#, 2, 3, Luca Sagresti2, 4, Claudio Tiecher5, Nicholus Bhattacharjee2, 6, Giuseppe Brancato*, 2, 4 and Armagan Kocer*, 1 Unravelling the molecular origin of an inherited channelopathy in the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv4.3. 1 Department of Bioelectric Signaling and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands; 2Scuola Normale Superiore and CSGI, piazza dei Cavalieri 7, Pisa, Italy;3 National Research Council (CNR) - Institute for the Chemistry of OrganoMetallic Compounds (ICCOM), Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; 4Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Largo Pontecorvo 3, Pisa, Italy; 5Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, the Netherlands; 6Faculty of Chemistry, The University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU & Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Donostia, Spain
31 October 2024: Biotech Booster Grant
We are pleased to announce that we have received a Biotech Booster grant to support our innovative project on a platform for novel drug target discovery and drug testing. This platform utilizes a proprietary functional assay based on exosomes obtained from liquid biopsies. With the funding and support from entrepreneurs, experts, knowledge institutes and others from the biotech sector, we’re ready to take the next steps towards validating and developing our findings and leveraging biotechnology to achieve societal impact! The Biotech Booster program, is a national initiative aimed at promoting the commercialization of biotechnology advancements in the Netherlands.
(May 2024) Molecules for Society: a VU – UT molecular (life) science challenge
Warm congratulations to Dr. Edwin de Jong (BioEE), together with his 3 other colleagues from the Department of Molecules and Materials, and 4 researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) on receiving a 'Molecules for Society: a VU – UT molecular (life) science challenge' grant.
The project aims for: 1) being trained on securing consortia grants from forming an interdisciplinary consortium with scientists and industry partners; and 2) Applying for a competitive grant by using this knowledge. If you are curious about the current activities of the VU-UT team, you can find the latest news here.
HUGO MARKUS WINS 4TU.HEALTH PHD COMPETITION
Warm congratulations to Hugo for being one of the three winners of 4TU.Health PhD competition!
The competition aims to challenge PhD students from the health and tech domain to present their research to others from four technical universities in The Netherlands. It is an exciting and engaging platform for young researchers to explore new topics and generate collaborations. You can see all 44 posters here. We wish Hugo lots of success in his research. Team BioEE, 23 March 2023
MASTER PROJECTS (min 6 months)
BioEE group is looking for master students with a biology, chemistry, physics, or engineering background for the following projects:
- Elucidating the bioelectric signaling of tumor cells
- Extracellular vesicle engineering and its applications
- Functional studies on cancer cell ion channels
- Elucidating the molecular switching mechanism of cAMP-induced activation of cerebellar Purkinje neuron AMPA receptors (wet-lab (UT) or molecular dynamics simulations - UT in collaboration with VU-)
If you are an enthusiastic person interested in experimental research at the crossroads of basic science and engineering and looking for a challenge, please get in touch with us for the details of the projects.