The research of Anne Wentink is focused on understanding the role of chaperone mediated disaggregation of protein aggregates in the context of neurodegenerative disease.

More information about Anne Wentink

Biography

Dr. Anne S Wentink (09-05-1990) studied Biochemistry at University College London (UCL) from 2007-2010. She obtained a BBSRC scholarship to pursue a PhD in the lab of Prof John Christodoulou at UCL (2010-2015). Here she used solution-state NMR spectroscopy to study the structure and dynamics of the ribosome associated bacterial chaperone Trigger Factor and its interaction with nascent polypeptide chains.

Her postdoctoral research with Prof Bernd Bukau at Heidelberg University (since 2015) on the molecular mechanism of amyloid fibre disaggregation by the human Hsp70 chaperone cumulated in two back-to-back publications in Nature in 2020. In January 2022, she started her own research group as assistant professor within the division of Macromolecular Biochemistry focused on understanding the role of chaperone mediated disaggregation of protein aggregates in the context of neurodegenerative disease.

Curriculum Vitae

Personal information

Nationality:   Dutch
Date of birth:   9 May 1990

Education

2015   PhD in Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London (UCL), United Kingdom. Thesis title: “Structure and dynamics of the bacterial chaperone Trigger Factor”
Advisor: Prof. J. Christodoulou

Current and previous research positions

2022 – now    Assistant Professor, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, The Netherlands
2015 – 2021   Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University and German Cancer Research Centre, Germany

Grants, awards, recognitions

2023    NWO Vidi Grant (k€ 800)

Contribution to teaching and supervision

• Course for MSc Life Science & Technology and Chemistry at Leiden University: Protein Folding, Misfolding and Design
• Course for BSc Life Science & Technology at Leiden University: Life Sciences
• Supervisor of BSc and MSc research projects and colloquia

(Co-) Supervision of 5 PhD students since 2019.

Other responsibilities

• Member of Programme Committee BSc Life Science & Technology
• Member of LUF International Study Fund (LISF) Committee 
• Member of Organising Committee LED3 seminar series
• Organiser of Leiden Proteostasis Community meetings
• Member of Participant Council of the Dutch NMR Discussion Group

Publication record including recent representative publications

13 papers with >650 citations, H-index 11 (Web of Science)

Full publication record: Leiden University

• Beton et al., Cooperative Amyloid Fibre Binding and Disassembly by the HSP70 disaggregase, EMBO J, 2022;41(16). DOI: 10.15252/embj.2021110410
• Wentink et al., Molecular dissection of amyloid disaggregation by the human Hsp70 chaperone, Nature, 2020;587(7834):483-488. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2904-6
• Faust et al., Hsp40s employ class-specific regulation to drive Hsp70 functional diversity, Nature, 2020;587(7834) :489-494. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2906-4
• Nachman et al., Disassembly of Tau fibrils by the human Hsp70 disaggregation machinery liberates small seeding-competent species. JBC 2020. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.RA120.013478

Presentations including at international conferences

~15 invited presentations at universities and institutes, and oral communications at international conferences

Publications