Information on the lectures
Each year, in honour of International Women’s Day, the Radboud Network of Women Professors (NVH) gives a gift to the city of Nijmegen in the form of several lectures around 8 March. Three women professors shared their knowledge and presented their research on the heritage and traditions of Christian refugees, retaining fertility after cancer, and whether or not to address issues at work.
| Speaker 1 | |
|---|---|
 |
Annemiek van Spriel is Professor of Experimental Immunology at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (UMCN) |
Smart organisation of the exterior of immune cells protects against cancer
Immune cells are essential for protecting against cancer. These cells communicate with their environment through their exterior, the cell membrane. The organisation of proteins in the cell membrane has an important impact on how immune cells function. My group discovered that a disruption to the membrane organisation can lead to cancer. This research has been designed with the goal of obtaining new insights into the cell membrane in the immune systems of healthy humans and cancer patients.
| Speaker 2 | |
|---|---|
 |
Daniela Wilson is Professor of Systems Chemistry at the Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University. |
Molecular Intelligence: The Rise of Supramolecular Nanomachines
Cellular structures, the basic building blocks of life, are one of the most well studied complex systems. Their intricate architectures have inspired the design of synthetic analogues that can mimic both their structure and function. One of the great challenges of complex life-like molecular systems is to understand and design autonomous systems that not only can move directionally by harvesting different sources of energy but also can sense, communicate, interact and respond to clues from their environment and adapt to its changes. Here I will show how spontaneous self-assembly of smart building blocks can lead to autonomous and locomotive systems with controlled motion and directionality. These biomimetic motile systems are ultimately able to control their motion, directionality, speed and behavior in response to clues from their complex biological environment. Such properties could be potentially a game changer in the biomedical field, which at the moment rely only on passive high dose drug delivery systems.
| Speaker 3 | |
|---|---|
 |
Liedeke Plate is Professor of Culture and Inclusivity at the Faculty of Arts, Radboud University. |
Art, culture, and inclusivity
What does a photo from a newspaper tell you about how whiteness is created, perpetuated, and questioned in the Netherlands? How do artistic and cultural practices implicitly confirm norms and, in turn, include or exclude people from the groups created by these norms? How can a video clip of Beyoncé and Jay-Z provide us with the tools to consider the connection necessary for properly functioning as a society?
In her lecture, Liedeke Plate addresses how artistic and cultural expressions can either encourage or discourage an inclusive society.