Stephan Hacker
PresidentThe president leads this organization. The focus of my role is on 1) growing our network, 2) cultivating active communication with our members, and 3) making the voice of Assistant Professors heard with stakeholders on the national level.
Stephan Hacker is an Assistant Professor at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry of Leiden University. He studied Life Science at the University of Konstanz, Germany. Afterward, he performed his PhD studies with Prof. Andreas Marx at the University of Konstanz, Germany, and his postdoctoral research with Prof. Benjamin Cravatt at Scripps Research in La Jolla, USA. After his postdoctoral research, he started his independent career as a group leader supported by a Liebig Fellowship at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. His group is focused on the identification of new target proteins for the antibiotics of the future. For this purpose, his group develops chemistries for novel covalent protein ligands targeting diverse amino acids as well as chemoproteomic technologies to study their target engagement with a resolution of the modified amino acid residue in proteome-wide studies.
Apostolos Liakopoulos
TreasurerThe Treasurer is responsible for managing the network’s finances to ensure that all activities, events, and initiatives are supported in a financially sustainable and transparent way. The treasurer safeguards the organization’s funds and provides clear reporting to the board and members, while also working to successfully obtain funding from government institutions and other relevant sources to support APNet’s goals and long-term stability.
Apostolos Liakopoulos is an Assistant Professor of Molecular Bacteriology at the Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, in the Netherlands. After receiving his PhD from Utrecht University in 2017, Apostolos worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden University (2017–2021) and then as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Individual Global Fellow between Harvard Medical School (US) and the Institute Pasteur (France) (2021–2023). His research focuses on the diverse lifestyles that pathogenic bacteria adopt to evade antibiotic treatment during infections. His group explores both fundamental and applied aspects of these phenomena, with particular interest in how bacterial mobile genetic elements shape and exploit bacterial lifestyles detrimental to the host. Alongside his academic work, Apostolos is a member of the Educational Committee of the Utrecht University Graduate School of Life Sciences and the Utrecht University Library Committee, and serve as an editorial board member for several scientific journal in the field of microbiology. During his postdoc at Leiden University, he also served as a board member of the Institute of Biology Leiden PhD and Postdoc Association (IPPA).
Ivana Drienovska
SecretaryAs secretary, my most visible task for you will be summarizing the achievements of each year in the yearly statement, presented in the general assembly in April. Behind the scenes I furthermore will keep a record of the activities of the board and the organisation in general such that from day one of our organization we will have an archive enabling us to pass on everything we built together.
Ivana Drienovská is an assistant professor at the Department of Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (appointed July 2020). She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biochemistry from Masaryk University, Brno, and completed her PhD at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry at the University of Groningen in 2017 under the supervision of Prof. Gerard Roelfes on artificial enzymes. Following her doctoral studies, she pursued postdoctoral research in Biotechnology at Graz University of Technology with Prof. Robert Kourist. Her research interests have focused on biocatalysis and biomolecular chemistry, in particular on exploring and demonstrating the potential of genetically encoded noncanonical amino acids.
Martin Skrodzki
IT LeadThe lead of IT provides sufficient support to the IT operations, such as maintaining safe and healthy backends to all ICT aspects of AP-Net.
Martin is an assistant professor at the Computer Graphics and Visualization group at TU Delft in the Netherlands. He’s an associate editor of the Journal of Mathematics and the Arts and an editor of the online journal w/k – Between Science & Art. Furthermore, he’s a member of the Solid Modeling Association and a member of the Delft Young Academy. His research interests include the use of illustrations in mathematics, visualization of high-dimensional data, discrete geometry processing as well as interactions between mathematics and arts.
Verena Seibel
Policy LeadThe policy lead engages with all political decisions that affect Assistant Professors in the Netherlands.
Verena Seibel is an Assistant Professor for Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at Utrecht University and a member of the European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations (ERCOMER). Previously, Verena held a position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen (2018-2021) and was a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Konstanz, Germany (2015-2018).
Verena is particularly interested in migrants’ perceptions and knowledge of their social rights. She is the PI of several research projects investigating how migrants navigate a welfare state, which is often foreign to them. She received, among others, the NWO Open Competition XS grant and was a GAK fellow at the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS).
Next to her academic work, Verena is passionate about pushing for inclusive policies within Dutch academia. Since 2024, Verena has been Vice-Chair of the Utrecht Young Academy. Before that, she was chair of the Diversity group of the Young Enthusiastic Social Science Researchers of the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences (YESS BSS), University of Groningen (2019-2021) and Head of the Equal Opportunities division of the Faculty of Humanities in Konstanz University (2016-2017).
Despoina Georgiou
External CommunicationThe External Communication Lead helps fostering professional relationships between Assistant Professors, APNet, and other parties in the Netherlands, such as the unions, the ministry, or the young academies.
Despoina is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences. She holds a Master’s degree in Research on Teaching and Learning from the Technical University of Munich, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the International Doctoral School REASON at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich. Her doctoral research focused on exploring the “Research-practice gap in teacher education: Beliefs, evidence, and practice of university-based teacher educators.” Despoina’s research interests encompass the professional development and learning of university teachers, with a strong emphasis on the integration of innovative instructional practices, including technology. Since August 2023, Despoina has been appointed to coordinate Special Interest Group 4 on Higher Education at EARLI.
Alex Rushforth
Internal Communication and Recognition & Rewards liaisonThe primary responsibility of the internal communication lead is developing and managing the APNet newsletter. The liaison for Recognition and Rewards (Erkennen en Waarderen) serves on the national advisory board, advocating for the interests and priorities of assistant professors in the Netherlands within this reform initiative.
Dr. Alex Rushforth is a scholar in the fields of sociology of science and science policy, with his research and teaching centered on the areas of research evaluation, bibliometrics, science governance and science and technology studies (STS) more broadly. He is assistant professor at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, and a senior research fellow at the Research on Research Institute (RoRI).
Keerthivasan Rajamani
Membership Management LeadThe membership management lead is responsible for recruiting, engaging, and retaining members, while enhancing member experience and ensuring network growth.
Keerthivasan Rajamani is an Assistant Professor in the Thermal Conversion and Storage group, Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering at the University of Twente. His Mechanical Engineering journey began with a unique bachelor’s program in India, where daily industrial training was integrated with academics. This practical foundation fostered Keerthi’s hands-on approach to learning and teaching, which he now brings to his classroom through frequent demonstrations and real-world examples. After earning a master’s degree at TU Delft, specializing in experimental thermal and fluid sciences, Keerthi pursued a PhD in Magnetic Refrigeration at the University of Twente. His research led him to found a spin-off company to valorize innovations in magnetic pumping, spanning applications from (magnetic) heat pump systems to heart pump (for blood pumping in medical applications). As Membership Lead at APNET, Keerthi is committed to engaging and supporting fellow members, fostering a collaborative professional network, and ensuring that practical and research-driven perspectives are well represented. Feel free to reach out to him (email/LinkedIn) if you have something to discuss.
Board Member Alumni
Ioana IIie
Board Member AlumnusVice President 2022 to 2023, President 2023 to 2025
Anouk Beniest
Board Member AlumnusPresident 2022 to 2023, Treasurer 2023 to 2025
Tessa Sinnige
Board Member AlumnusCommunity Lead 2024 to 2025
Luisa Cortesi
Board Member AlumnusBoard member 2023 to 2024
Athina Vidaki
Board Member AlumnusVice President 2023 to 2024, Community Lead 2022 to 2023
Anne de Bruijn
Board Member AlumnusPR Lead 2023 to 2024
Kaitai Liang
Board Member AlumnusIT&PR Lead 2022 to 2023
Eveline Snelders
Board Member AlumnaTreasurer 2022 to 2023
Rifka Vlijm
Board Member AlumnaSecretary 2022 to 2023
The board would also like to thank Zeshun Shi for significant help setting up the APNet website.