“The KRAS protein was discovered back in 1982 and linked to various types of cancer, including lung cancer. However, it would take another forty years until the development of drugs specifically targeting this protein: KRAS inhibitors. Now that these drugs are made available, it's vital that we are able to research them thoroughly. In my PhD project, I worked on methods to measure the function of KRAS inhibitors and what they do, using mouse models. This is still quite a challenge, as these drugs are completely new. Some haven't even been approved yet. We now also observe various effects in the mouse models that we couldn't have anticipated. Myself, I never expected that I would pursue a PhD in the first place. In Indonesia, my home country, it's not as common for women to have a career. I'm lucky that my parents recognized that this was something I truly wanted. A few years after obtaining my Master's degree in Utrecht, they were ok with me returning to the Netherlands. If there's one thing I've discovered here, it's that I could do this. I hope more Indonesian women will follow my lead."
Irene Retmana will defend her thesis on September 18.
This research is financially supported by the Dutch Cancer Society.
prof. dr. J.H. Beijnen
dr. Ir. R.W. Sparidans