A personal touch of Lisanne Gommers

22 April 2018

My name is Lisanne Gommers, and I am a Dutch PhD candidate at the department of Physiology and part of the theme Renal disorders.

When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? Can you tell us something about your child years. 

When I was a child, I knew for sure that I wanted to become a physician. As a child, I watched all medically-related programmes on the television (e.g. Ingang Oost, Medisch Centrum, Trauma centrum etc. etc.), and spent hours reading medical books (fairy tales were too boring). So I was shocked to find out I could not start my medical training (my ranking number was just 10 places below the cutoff to be offered a position in Nijmegen). Although to my grandfather this was not surprising because he knew all along I would become a scientist. Unfortunately, I have not been able to tell him he was absolutely right… (I have to admit)!! 

What was your previous academic training, where did you study and why that study? 

Honestly, I did not have a plan B when I found out I couldn’t attend medical school (because you know… why would you consider having a plan B when you’ve always been dreaming about something?!). However,  I became very interested in the field of Medical Biology in Nijmegen, not only because they offered the possibility for a pre-master Medicine, but also because they focused on clinical problems on a deeper molecular and cellular level. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of disease inspired and motivated me so much that I decided to apply for the international research master ‘Molecular Mechanisms of disease’ (MMD). It was a true (scientific) adventure and MMD presented me with a lot of amazing opportunities, including my current PhD position. 

The RIMLS motto is: ‘Today’s molecules for tomorrow’s medicine’. What does this mean for you? 

Currently, I am investigating the clinical phenomenon of proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-induced hypomagnesemia (PPIH). About 10% of the PPI (e.g. omeprazole) users (we already have about 3 million users in the Netherlands) develops magnesium deficiency resulting in serious health problems. Increasing evidence shows that PPIs cause disturbances in the gut microbiome (just as many other types of medication). Personally, I aim to unravel the molecular link between the gut microbiome and intestinal magnesium absorption. I believe that understanding how our gut bacteria contribute to a healthy intestinal luminal environment for electrolyte (e.g. magnesium) absorption will contribute to a better treatment regime for large patient populations (including PPIH) and aid in the development of personalized patient treatment protocols. 

Who is your great example as scientists? And please give a motivation why.

There is a number of people that motivate and inspire me to be the best version of myself each and every day. There are several (female) scientists that are my role models because of their passion, energy and dedication to drive science forward. They are amazing at combining family life with a successful career in academic science (to the outside world, it seems so simple). One such person that I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with,  is Prof. Frances Ashcroft (University of Oxford), laureate of the L’Oréal-UNESCO (global award for exceptional women who have made great advances in scientific research). Joining her research group and working alongside her employees and under her guidance was in many ways very inspiring, and she made me realize the importance of teamwork in science. As a PhD candidate, I thoroughly enjoy collaborations within the lab, helping each other out (24/7), but also with other collaborators. More importantly, I think my colleagues, supervisors, fellow students, family and friends (the people closest to me) actually feed my continuous enthusiasm, optimism and drive for science. 

Which research discovery that you have made has made you most proud? 

Let’s discuss this question in about 2,5 years when I hopefully will be at the end of my PhD! Until then… I am just following my (scientific) gut instincts ;-). 

Given unlimited finance what experiment would you perform?

I would like to do different -omics approaches on large patient cohorts to understand the role of the gut microbiome (and its metabolites) on intestinal electrolyte absorption in health and disease. I think my supervisors would be very grateful with unlimited finance for my project. It would not be the first time I propose some very expensive experiments ;-). 

What does your working area (desk, office) look like and what does it say about you (or your research)?

My desk is always as organized as possible, but you will always find schemes/overviews of experimental plans. It may seem like everything is under control, but my Macbook dashboard indicates differently: it holds about a 100 notes for things I still want and need to figure out!!! 

Nominate a colleague to be in the spotlight and what would you like to ask him or her?

I would like to ask Estel Collado Camps if she could share me/us her enthusiasm, motivation and drive for her PhD project, the PhD council, the Dutch language and a healthy lifestyle.

What type of person are you, quick insights:

a) Mac or PC?                                : Mac
b) Theater or cinema?                 : Theater
c) Dine out or dine in?                 : Dine out
d) Ferrari or Fiat?                         : Ferrari
e) Shopaholic or chocoholic?     : Chocoholic
f) Culture or Nature                     : Nature
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