After finishing his Chemistry Studies (Specialisation Biochemistry) at De Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Patrick joined the lab of Prof. Dr. Koen Mertens at Sanquin (Amsterdam) to start his PhD. He used molecular biology tools and mammalian cell culture to produce recombinant blood coagulation proteins . After purification, these proteins were used in a selection of biochemical and enzymatic assays for functional characterisation. After obtaining his PhD degree, he moved to the NKI to work as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Titia Sixma, where he used protein crystallography in combination with biophysical methods (ITC, CD spectroscopy) to assess the structural properties of acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP).
He subsequently joined the lab of Anastassis Perrakis at NKI to become a project manager for the EU-funded (FP6-) program BIOXHIT, in addition to his contribution to a MHC-Class I crystallography project. In 2008, Patrick started to setup the Protein facility at NKI after receiving funding from NKI and NWO. Since then, he has been the facility lead. Over the years, the facility has successfully supported many internal- and external projects and has been/is part of a number of (non-) funded EU programs and consortia, including P4EU, ARBRE-MOBIEU, Instruct-ERIC, iNEXT and iNEXT-Discovery
Patrick has (co)organised several courses at NKI related to protein production, biophysical characterisation and crystallisation. He has also participated in several external courses as tutor/lecturer.
