Radio Life Sciences
Are you looking for an informal way to learn about your studies and future work possibilities? Are you interested in gaining insight into the decision-making process of the GSLS? Are you passionate about getting to know fellow students and GSLS policy advisors? Then you’ve come to the right place!
We are the Radio Life Sciences podcast team, a group of GSLS students and policy officers. We all share a passion to contribute to our community and are eager to dig deeper into the people of the GSLS. Come on board with us while we interview teachers, policymakers, GSLS staff, guests, and students! Who knows, maybe you are up next for interviewing!
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Feel free to get in touch with us by emailing us at radiolifesciences@umcutrecht.nl
Our Research | Selection procedure
In today's episode of Our Research series, Harold is talking to Anastasia Kurysheva and Sebastian Bok. Kurysheva finished her PhD on submissions within higher education at the GSLS last year. Bok is a Masters student who give his point of view on the selection procedure at the GSLS.
Our Community - Gijs' PhD Journey
In today's episode of Our Community theme, Lisa and Harold are talking with Gijs Teunis, a PhD candidate at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) at the department of Bacterial Surveillance and Response. We follow Gijs in his journey to see what steps he takes and what he learns from them.
An update of Radio Life Sciences
In today's episode, Lisa and Eveline talk about the new format of Radio Life Sciences (RLS). As of today, Radio Life Sciences will have five different themes; Our Education (1), Our Research (2), Our Community (3), Your Career (4), and Our News (5). Within those five themes episodes are recorded by the different hosts of the Radio Life Sciences team.
General Research Profile
In today's episode, Bea talks about the General Research Profile with three guests. Our first guest is Tania Moran Luengo, policy advisor and Research Project coordinator at the Graduate School of Life Sciences. Also joining this episode is Elianne, a former student who completed this profile a few months ago and is now a Lab technician at the same lab where she ended up doing her research. Our last guest is Manuel, a Regenerative Medicine and Technology student currently following this profile.
Pass-fail system
In today's episode, we have a conversation with a Bio Inspired Innovation Master student, Heleen van Leur. She wrote an opinion article on why the major research project should be graded pass/fail instead of numerically back in July 2022. Also, a guest at our podcast table is Dr. Renske de Kleijn, an assistant professor at UMC Utrecht. Her work focuses on conducting and supervising educational research on feedback and self-regulation in higher education.
Well-being special
In today's extra long and special episode, we look back on the series and well-being with one of our newest GSLS alumni, Jacco Bakx and author Marian Donner of the guide to self-destruction book. Donner studied Psychology in Amsterdam and majored in love and passion later on.
Diversity, equity, inclusion and well-being
In today's episode, we have a conversation on diversity, equity, inclusion in relation to well-being with two experts today. First expert is Dr. Gisella van der Velden, she is an assistent professor at the Biomedical Sciences department of the GSLS, and Dr. Leoniek Wijngaards is Professor Data use for innovation in Higher Education, and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.
Education and Covid-19
In today's episode, we are talking about education and Covid-19. We do so together with Gijs Teunis, a One Health Masters student, and Prof. Dr. Berent Prakken (MD, PhD) vice-dean and director of the biomedical education centre and professor of pediatric immunology at the Utrecht Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU).
Well-being and our brain
In today's episode we have a conversation with Prof. Erik Scherder. He is a Dutch professor of neuropsychology affiliated with the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam (VU) and professor of Movement Sciences at the University of Groningen. We discuss the importance of physical activity in correlation to our well-being, as well as its long-term importance. Besides being an interesting talk, Prof. Erik Scherder also encourages you to do something new. Wondering why? Then listen now via the play button!
How we see well-being
What are different perspectives on the issue of mental well-being? A talk with a professor Floortje Scheepers (her main line of research is: innovation in medical health care) and a student of the GSLS Lieke Gol, who studies on the programme “Biology of Disease” and works in a lab at the “Experimental Neurology” department of the UMCU hospital.
Introducing well-being series
This is the introduction episode to the “Student Well-Being Series” of the Radio Life Sciences (RLS). The podcast series will consist of five episodes. Meet our hosts – prof. Harold van Rijen and Eveline Kallenberg, MSc. They introduce themselves, share their personal stories and explain, why addressing the topic of student well-being is especially relevant nowadays. Stay tuned for the five core in-depth episodes in the upcoming weeks!
E.16 - Introducing Life Sciences (ILS)
This episode was recorded in September 2021 with the aim to give an impression about the UU GSLS introduction week (the ILS, in short) to prospective and starting students of this graduate school. In this episode, Anastasia Kurysheva talked to one of the organisers of the GSLS – dr. Kirsten Koymans and interviewed two students (Coen Vliegen and Sterre van Wierst) who were in the middle of the ILS week at that moment.
This episode will be useful to the GSLS applicants and students who are considering to apply to the GSLS of Utrecht University or start their studies there soon.
E.15 - How to get a PhD position? What does a PhD trajectory entail? A conversation with Dr. Saskia Ebeling
Are you interested in academic career? This episode is dedicated to everything you wanted to know about applying for a PhD position and actually doing a PhD project. How early should you apply? What is the GSLS PhD center and how is it helpful? How should your dissertation look, according to the official requirements? Gijs Teunis, a master’s student of One Health programme talked about all of these to Dr. Saskia Ebeling – a managing director of the PhD Course Centre.
A book recommendation of this episode: “De ommegang” by Jan van Aken
E.14 - Academic vs. Business (Research) Internship
During this episode, we zoom into the possibilities for masters’ research internships both at the university as well as in companies. We’ve invited three guests: two current master’s students, Georgia Avramidou and Vasiliki Gkouzioti, and one recently graduated master’s student, Laurie Kerkhof.
Book recommendations:
The Memory Game - Nicci French(link is external)
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown(link is external)
The House of Sleep - Jonathan Coe
E.13 - Translational Life Sciences Profile
This podcast presents you with another brand new profile at the GSLS – Translational Life Sciences (TLS) profile. Spiros Pachis talks to Sanne de Jong, who is the coordinator of this profile and to Joshua Elford, one the students, who chose this profile and is about to finish it. Interested to learn more about the TLS profile? You may find all the details about this profile in this podcast.
E.12 - Life of a Principal Investigator. A Talk with Prof. Dr. Elly Hol
Are you dreaming about academic career? It is very useful to hear the experiences of daily professional life of a principal investigator from a person, who actually has undergone this pathway. Learn about a great example of outstanding academic career in the conversation of a GSLS student and Radio Life Sciences team member Zuzanne Altmann with Prof. Dr. Elly Hol (UMC Utrecht, department of Translational Neuroscience).
The book recommendation is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
E.9 - Career Services: When should I Pay a Visit? A Talk with Marte Otter and Kim van den Heuvel
This is an episode which broadens your horizon. You will learn not only what career services do for the GSLS students, but also whether there has been a shift in the career prospects of our students and what the career options of a master’s student are if s/he does not want to pursue research career in the future.
The book recommendations of our guests are: “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” by Rachel Joyce, “Je bent was je doet” by Roos Vonk (currently, only in Dutch), and “Millennium ” by Stieg Larsson.
E.8 - Food 4 health and safety course: a talk with course coordinators Michèle Gerbrands and Maartje van Reedt Dortland
You will learn about the new and innovative course – Food 4 health and safety. It starts right now at the GSLS. It is a collaboration between the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, UMC Utrecht and three Dutch universities. Vivian Hageman talks to Michelle Gerbrands and Maartje van Reedt Dortland – the coordinators of this course. The episode was edited by Zuzanna Altmann.
Michelle’s book recommendation is: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Harari Yuval Noah. Maartje recommends to our listeners to watch a documentary on Netflix “A Life on Our Planet” by David Attenborough.
E.7 - Jitte Jennekens, the chair of the Life Sciences Representatives
In this episode, Gijs and Anastasia talk to the chair of the Life Sciences Representatives (LSR). The LSR represents the interests and rights of all Master’s students of the Graduate School of Life Sciences at Utrecht University. How has the LSR become a huge success? What are the directions of their work? Let’s listen to Jitte to get the answers.
A book recommendation from Jitte: Zeitoun – a nonfiction book written by Dave Eggers.
E.6 - Interview with Academic counsellors
Why would you want to reach out to an academic counsellor? Get to know Desley van der Zande and Jaco de Fockert-Koefoed closer! Get inspired by their non-linear career trajectories towards their profession, their vision on their mission in their work with students and the ideas on happiness.
Book recommendations of this episode: “I am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes, “Socrates op sneakers” by Elke Wiss, “The Painted Bird” by Jerzy Kosiński.
E.4 - Renske de Kleijn: Introduction to Designing and Teaching in Higher Education
Interview with Dr. Renske de Kleijn by our new RLS member Vivian Hegeman. Renske is an Assistant Professor at Biomedical Sciences, Course coordinator of the new GSLS course ‘Introduction to Designing & Teaching in Higher Education‘ (Start in Period 3), and writer of the children’s book ‘Als het virus straks voorbij is‘ (still available).
E.3 - First year GSLS international students
Meet the international GSLS students! Learn about academic backgrounds of Cheyenne Gumbs, Carla Rios, Inês Marcelino, Muhamad Rifki Ramadhan, and Anushree Ray. Listen to their perceptions of the Introduction week at the GSLS and their views on the most challenging problems in the Life Sciences field.