Meet the team – interview with Manon Berns

Manon joined PD-value in May 2024 as a Systems Biology Modeler, addressing drug discovery and development questions using quantitative biology.

Hi Manon, can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

I see myself as a biologist with a strong interest in modeling. I studied biomedical sciences, where I explored my interest in human health and diseases, but I missed the quantitative aspect. That is also why I moved to the field of mainly systems biology, and also bioinformatics to have that quantitative connection. I also developed a strong interest in neuroscience and decided to endeavor on both tracks. So, I also studied Neuroscience for my Master’s and could combine both interests during my PhD, where I developed mathematical models describing neurotransmitter release.

Neurotransmitter release is a process tightly controlled by many proteins. Because of the fast time scale and the small spatial scale at which this process occurs, it is difficult to get a complete – with the emphasis on complete - understanding of neurotransmitter release and in particular it’s dynamic regulation with currently available experimental techniques. I developed mathematical models to combine insights obtained from different experiments to get a better understanding of how neurotransmitter release is regulated at a molecular level.

Can you tell us how you choose your career path?

Of course, I am still at the start of my career, but I always had this clear plan that I wanted to go for research. Not everything was completely clear when I was at school, but I like learning, and exploring. On the way, I noticed that I needed to go to university and higher education for that. I was strongly interested in Neuroscience and mathematical modeling. I could really see the pieces coming together during my Master’s. Also my PhD project was great work for me. However, during my PhD, I also noticed that academia was not the best fit for me. That is why I made the decision to move to the industry.

Was it an easy decision, more or less natural next step for you, or did it take some time?

It took some time and I had some doubts. Because I really like to dive into complex problems, I always thought that academia was the place for me. Now I am happy that here at PD-value, I am fully engaged in complex models. I also enjoy that we have strong connections with academia. And I am happy that the work I am doing now is result-oriented.

Great. I was moving in that direction, but you also took us there already. Let's dive into your role at PD-value. What does a typical day look like for you? How do you see your job impacting the world around us?

So, from a day-to-day aspect, at PD-value’s systems biology department, we are interested in exploring how signaling within or between cells is affected during disease and how we can capture this in models. I am looking into a lot of background research to better understand these topics and disease fields. Then, I think about how to merge the background information into a mathematical model that describes the signaling cascade.

Through these models, you can get new insights and test many conditions that wouldn’t be possible through experiments. Based on these results I give advice to clients on what type of experiments are worthwhile to perform or things they should pay attention to during drug development and research. This way, I aim to help optimizing drug development.

Exactly. Reflecting on your projects, what do you believe has been your most significant contribution? How do you think this work influences the broader community?

It’s a difficult question (both laughing). I try to make something complex a little bit less complex or, let’s say, more digestible because it still stays complex, and deliver new insights to the clients, give directions for experiments they could perform, identify factors they need to pay attention to for their patient selection for clinical studies. Next to that we also work on the edge of the new technologies and new modeling types that are being developed, and by that, we also contribute to the field as a whole and the community.

What drives your passion for your work? What aspects of your role make you most excited?

I really like the abstract thinking part of it, mentally visualizing how the signaling processes work and thinking logically about what kind of impacts that would have. But then also, of course, test that later through your modeling and explore the logic behind the response of a cell. And in a way, also during that phase, it’s nice to see that you can bring information together that maybe comes from quite different angles, like experiments that are done in culture dishes or patient studies and things like that, bring insights from all those perspectives together into a model. It is also something that I really enjoy.

Outside of work, what hobbies or interests keep you engaged and energized? Can you tell us more about your life beyond the office?

I really like to do sports, any type of sport, and currently it’s running and boot camp – outdoor sports/exercises. And I have joined a small painting group. It’s just nice to see what everyone is working on and sharing experiences in that. Currently, I am in the aquarelle painting phase, but this changes over time. I love the way watercolors can flow over the paper and create surprising effects.

I was going to say I know you like to paint. What are your subjects, what do you like painting most?

Currently, mainly scenery. I am painting based on photo’s taken during my holidays. Last week, I painted a sunrise photographed on my way to work. But also in the topics I paint, I switch a lot. I drew and painted a lot of portraits of people at some point.