Marileen Dogterom

Marileen Dogterom is a Professor of Bionanoscience at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, and holds a dual appointment as a Medical Delta Professor at the Leiden Institute of Physics, Leiden University. Her research focuses on the quantitative biophysics of the cytoskeleton, particularly microtubule dynamics and their role in cellular organization and division.

Her work integrates in vitro reconstitution, theoretical modeling, and live-cell experiments to dissect the physical mechanisms underlying cytoskeletal processes. She leads the national 'Building a Synthetic Cell' (BaSyC) initiative, aiming to construct a minimal synthetic cell, reflecting her pioneering role in bottom-up synthetic biology. Her lab investigates cytoskeletal crosstalk, DNA segregation systems, microtubule-kinetochore coupling, and force generation using advanced techniques like optical tweezers and liquid-phase electron microscopy.

The most recent publications highlight a strong trend in mechanistic biophysics and synthetic cell engineering, with a focus on protein complexes (Ndc80, Ska), microtubule end dynamics, actin-microtubule coordination, and the development of minimal in vitro systems to model cellular processes like polarity and coacervate formation.

• Spinoza Prize (2018): One of the highest scientific awards in the Netherlands.
• Member of the KNAW board (2017): Elected to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

She actively supervises PhD and master’s students, fostering the next generation of scientists in biophysics and synthetic biology. Her lab collaborates widely, including with groups at TU Delft, Leiden University, and international institutions like BIOCEV in Prague. The lab is deeply involved in cutting-edge projects such as building light-controllable DNA segregation systems and visualizing microtubule dynamics with liquid-phase EM.

Her research is conducted at the intersection of physics, biology, and engineering, primarily within the Marileen Dogterom Lab at TU Delft, and through collaborative efforts with the Koenderink group (TU Delft), the Schneider lab (Leiden University), and the broader European Synthetic Cell initiative.