Wout Oosterheert

Throughout my career, I have become fascinated with the complex molecular mechanisms that underly biological processes.  I studied Chemistry at Utrecht University (Bachelor 2013, Master 2015 – both cum laude).
As part of my Master’s curriculum, I performed an internship in the lab of Prof. Eric Gouaux at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, USA. I then returned to Utrecht to start my PhD in biochemistry and structural biology under the guidance of Prof. Piet Gros. In the Gros lab, I investigated the structure and mechanism of STEAP membrane proteins, which represent a family of enzymes that are upregulated in prostate cancer. After receiving my PhD cum laude (highest distinction) in March 2021, I joined the lab of Prof. Stefan Raunser at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, Germany as a postdoctoral researcher, supported by a prestigious fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation. In Dortmund, I uncovered important mechanisms that underlie the assembly and turnover of the actin cytoskeleton, a versatile network of filaments that controls the shape and movement of all eukaryotic cells. In 2025, I started my own independent group at the Netherlands Cancer Institute as a junior group leader (assistant professor level). My research is focused on uncovering the molecular mechanisms of (cancer)-cell migration and adhesion in atomic detail.