In our series of 'Meet the AMS scientist', we shine the light on outstanding AMS researchers and dive into their background, what drives them, what their work brings them and what they bring to their work. These interviews are also shared on the AMS LinkedIn account, feel free to share within your network!
"I don’t know.”
For some, that might be where it ends. For Britt van der Leeden, it can be the moment where it begins.
Years ago, during an internship at Radboud UMC, Britt encountered a patient whose complaints did not have a clear explanation. When she asked the doctor what the patient was supposed to do next, the answer was that they simply did not know. There was no obvious solution and little time to investigate further. But where the possibilities seemed to end for the doctor, Britt’s curiosity was sparked. If we do not know what is happening, shouldn’t that be exactly when we start looking?
Today, Britt applies that curiosity to burn research. During her PhD, she investigated how the body’s own inflammatory response can influence the conversion of burn wounds. A burn wound can progress from second to third degree after the initial injury, partly due to processes within the body itself. Britt specifically investigated the role of neutrophils in this process and whether there might eventually be opportunities to intervene, limiting further conversion of the wound.
Now, as a postdoctoral researcher, her focus has shifted towards developing humane skin models. But understanding what happens in a model is only part of the picture. Britt wants her research to remain closely connected to what happens in clinical practice.
She sees a risk when research and clinical care develop alongside each other without enough interaction. Researchers may spend years answering a question, only to hear from healthcare professionals that the answer is not particularly useful to them. In burn research, Britt values that this connection is much closer. Feedback from clinicians, and even input from patients, can help researchers understand which questions actually matter in practice. At the same time, findings from the laboratory can make their way back towards patient care.
This exchange is particularly important in burn care. Survival rates are high in the Netherlands, but surviving a severe burn does not mean that its impact disappears. Recovery, repeated procedures and scarring can continue to affect a person’s quality of life. Britt hopes that by understanding what happens early in the wound-healing process, research may eventually contribute to improving that longer-term recovery.
Her own route into this field went also by a process of elimination. Britt initially studied Nutrition and Health and considered studying medicine because she wanted a stronger connection with healthcare. When that did not work out initially, she started biomedical sciences instead, and discovered how much she enjoyed creating and working with models such as organoids and reconstructed human skin Even when she was later admitted to medicine, she chose not to switch.
That choice eventually brought her to burn research, where she found a combination that suited her particularly well: immunology, innovative models and a clear connection to clinical application.
Working across disciplines is quite literally part of Britt’s working week now. Her research connects expertise from cardiovascular pathology, skin research and burn research, and she has worked across several locations in Amsterdam and Beverwijk. Moving between these different environments allows knowledge to travel with her as well. Each group approaches questions from a slightly different perspective, and it is precisely that exchange that Britt values.
For Britt, that is where collaboration becomes particularly valuable. Not knowing something does not have to be the end of the conversation. It can be an invitation to ask someone from another field, reconsider the problem from a different angle, or question an assumption that has become routine.
Perhaps that is also what connects the different parts of Britt’s journey. From questioning what happens to a patient when the existing answers run out, to developing new models and working across laboratories, clinics and disciplines. She remains driven by a willingness to keep looking.
Find the article also on our LinkedIn.
Written by Elianne Prange (Communication Officer AMS)