Could you introduce yourself?
My name is Johannes Textor, and I came to Nijmegen almost 10 years ago now, where I initially started setting up my own research group at Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc). I began my career in theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence (in a time when this wasn't yet "trendy") and gradually became more interested in using computational methods in biomedical research, particularly in immunology. But after several years, I began to miss fundamental research a bit and therefore seized the opportunity in 2020 to partially move to Radboud University. Currently, my research group is present on both sides of the "Heyendaalseweg" (the road in between the Faculty of Science and Radboudumc, ed.). As a student, you might encounter me in the Bachelor's and Master's Computing Science programmes, particularly Data Science courses, but also in the Faculty of Medical Sciences in courses such as "Bioinformatics" and even "Excellence in Communication". I am also a member of the education directorate as coordinator of the Master's in Computing Science.
Why did you choose to study/work in this field? What makes this field so interesting?
I have already experienced multiple "hype cycles" in which it was repeatedly promised that we would solve major problems with artificial intelligence, such as curing cancer or finding a vaccine against HIV. These promises haven't really materialised, but there has definitely been progress in the biomedical sciences thanks to computational methods - think of the development of mRNA vaccines, where "in silico" predictions have long played a crucial role. I find it extremely exciting to dive deeper into the biomedical world and to figure out which important problems exist where we as computer scientists can really make a difference.
What is your current research focus?
I am very interested in how the immune system processes information, and how and why this sometimes goes wrong (think of autoimmune diseases). For this, I build large simulation models that help us better understand the functioning of T cells and other cells of the immune system (for more information, see a seminar of mine on this topic here). I also develop AI methods to analyse immunological datasets more quickly and objectively.
What advice do you have for students making their study choice?
What do you really want to do later? What do you find important and what are you good at? What makes you happy? Think about it and talk about it with your friends and family.
What do you enjoy most about working with students?
I see it as a privilege to guide young people through a part of their development. Moments when you can clearly see that a student is making progress and gaining satisfaction from it give a lot of energy.