Veerle Brans

In 2017, Veerle graduated cum laude from the VU University in Amsterdam with a BSc in Medical Natural Sciences, specialising in Biomedical Imaging. Her final research project regarded The application of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) in quantifying binding kinetics of DNA intercalators to optically manipulated DNA, with Dr Iddo Heller and Dr Freek Ariese.

As a Clarendon Scholar, Veerle subsequently joined the Oxford-Nottingham Biomedical Imaging (EPSRC and MRC) Centre for Doctoral Training, where she completed a projects on the RpoS-mediated stringent response at the single-molecule level in E. coli using both single-molecule fluorescence (PALM) and single-particle tracking, with Prof Achillefs Kapanidis and Dr Stephan Uphoff. Veerle then joined the BUBBL group, where she focussed on ultrasound-mediated opening of the blood-brain barrier using lysophosphatidylcholine. Her DPhil is currently on ultrasound-mediated modulation of cell membranes by protein-functionalised microbubbles, with Prof Eleanor Stride and Dr Erdinc Sezgin. 

• Jan 2020 - Jun 2021 - Undergraduate Tutor in Biomedical Fluid Mechanics, University of Oxford
• Mar 2018 - Mar 2022 - Welfare Officer, New College, University of Oxford
• Oct 2018 - Oct 2019 - Outreach Volunteer & Team Leader, Oxford Science +Ideas Festival

Scholarships:

• Oct 2017 - Oct 2021 - Clarendon Fund and New College Graduate Scholarship
• Jun 2017 - VSBFonds
• Mar 2019 - Studiefonds KETEL 1

Dec 2019 - Patent Application - (UK Application No. 198428.2), Microbubble Mediated Cell Surface Tagging

• Microbubble formulation for drug-delivery and immunomodulation
• Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy and High-Speed Imaging
• Ultrasound-mediated cellular membrane modulation
• Advanced imaging and synthetic biology tools to reveal the molecular mechanisms governing microbubble-cell interactions

Ultrasound-mediated modulation of cell membranes by protein-functionalised microbubbles':

This DPhil project is in pursuit of an original idea on the interface between two disciplines: the engineering of a new microbubble, broadly used in a drug-delivery context, to be employed in combination with ultrasound to mobilise one’s own immune system to combat cancer.

• Gray, M., Vasilyeva, A. V., Brans, V., & Stride, E. (2021). Studying Cavitation Enhanced Therapy. Journal of Visualized Experiments: Jove, (170).
• Browning, R. J., Aron, M., Booth, A., Rademeyer, P., Wing, S., Brans, V., ... & Stride, E. (2019). Spectral Imaging for Microbubble Characterization. Langmuir, 36(2), 609-617.