prof. dr. Nico Sommerdijk

About Nico Sommerdijk

Nico Sommerdijk is professor of Bone Biochemistry at the Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences where he investigates the molecular mechanisms of bone formation in health and disease. His work is summarized in https://publons.com/researcher/4378049/nico-sommerdijk/

Sommerdijk obtained his PhD from Radboud University Nijmegen in 1995 after which he did postdoctoral work in the University of Kent and Radboud University. From 1999 to 2019 he worked at Eindhoven University of Technology where he pioneered the use of cryo-electron microscopy to study soft matter assembly and biomineralization mechanisms.

In August 2019 he moved to Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen where he investigates bone biomineralization, in particular the mechanisms of collagen assembly and mineralization. There he co-founded (with Anat Akiva) the Radboud Electron Microscopy Center that supports the advanced electron microscopic analysis of biological materials. For his research Sommerdijk uses both 3D (cryo-)correlative electron microscopy, as wel as liquid phase electron microscopy.

Personal prizes & awards

• Academia Europaea Member, Austria (2020)
• ERC Advanced Grant: “A “Google Earth” Approach to Understanding Collagen Mineralization” (2018)
• NWO TOP-PUNT Grant: “Bio-Inspired Hybrids” (2016)
• Royal Society of Chemistry “Soft Matter and Biophysical Chemistry Award” (2015)
• NWO VICI Award: “Understanding Bio(mimetic) Mineralization” (2010)
• NWO VIDI Award: “Biomimetic Synthesis of CaCO3 Biomaterials” (2006)