It started with an online internship 

Hanne’s move to Boston is, in her own words, ‘a series of fortunate coincidences’. During her Master’s in Biomedical Sciences she had to choose an internship, but because it was during the coronavirus pandemic, options were limited – and it had to be online. Through her network she got in touch with a researcher at Harvard Medical School in Boston and was given the opportunity to contribute to research on the neurobiological and inflammatory factors underlying pain in children with a rheumatic disease. She enjoyed it so much that she stayed involved after her internship in the publication of the research. That, in turn, led to a new opportunity: working on site in Boston. 

‘I don’t think I would ever have had the courage to email a Harvard lab out of the blue. But I was put in touch by chance, and because of the lockdown I could do that internship perfectly online. Without COVID, I might never have had this opportunity!’ 

By now she has been working there for about three years with great pleasure, has completed her PhD and continued as a postdoc. 

Life in the US 

What does she miss about Amsterdam? ‘Dutch directness. People just say what they think, without beating around the bush or being overly polite.’ She also misses the spontaneous sociability of Amsterdam, ‘just quickly going for a drink on a terrace’. 

Fortunately, Boston is full of nice coffee bars that she has grown to appreciate. She also noticed how curious people are: ‘Here I feel that people are very open and that everyone has interesting stories or backgrounds.’ 

For her research, Hanne regularly travels to places such as Texas, Indiana, Florida, Seattle and New York. ‘That variety makes the work even more inspiring.’ Weekend trips also feel easier and more within reach in the US, she says: ‘Within a few hours’ drive we can go hiking for the weekend in New Hampshire or Maine, or relax on the beach on Cape Cod.’ 

She also enjoys typically American experiences: sports games of the Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox, and holidays such as Thanksgiving and St Patrick’s Day. ‘The best thing about my life here may be that I am being challenged enormously, both professionally and personally, and that I still feel I discover something new every day or every week.’ 

Staying connected with the UvA 

Recently, Hanne attended her first UvA alumni event, in New York. ‘This event was a really great experience,’ she says. ‘All the special and inspiring stories from alumni who have been living in the US for decades gave me a lot of insight into how they experienced this.’ 

According to Hanne, events like this really show what the UvA network can mean, even from a distance. ‘Moments like these really give you the sense that, as UvA alumni, we have a special bond even far beyond Amsterdam.’ 

Her advice to alumni who want to stay connected with the UvA whilst abroad is simple: LinkedIn. ‘The advantage of LinkedIn is that it’s easy to keep in touch, follow news from the UvA and see what fellow alumni are doing,’ she explains. She does not use any other social media herself, but for her this platform works well to stay up to date and in contact with former fellow students and colleagues. 

‘At the UvA I learned how valuable multidisciplinary collaboration can be’ 

What she notices most in her daily work from her time at the UvA is the importance of collaborating effectively with people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise. 

In her Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes, many courses focused on working in groups or pairs, and she learned to collaborate with people from very different fields. ‘Here in Boston I notice how important that really is, because I daily work with clinicians from a wide range of specialisms (such as rheumatology and psychiatry), data analysts and pharmaceutical researchers, and of course with patients from very diverse backgrounds.’ 

The future 

Hanne is clear about her future: in the long term, she sees herself moving back towards Europe, mainly for personal reasons. ‘I would like to be together again with my boyfriend, who has been an incredible support to me ever since my very first (disastrous) exam at the UvA, and to be closer to family and friends.’ 

That does not mean the decision to leave Boston will be easy. ‘It will be a departure with a heavy heart,’ she says. She finds it difficult to imagine leaving her current work, colleagues and patients behind. ‘I really feel that I have the very best and nicest work environment and colleagues I could wish for here.’ 

Ideally, she hopes to find some form of international collaboration so she can continue her research line and maintain her contacts in Boston. ‘Perhaps through a position at the UvA,’ she adds with a smile. ‘That would of course be really wonderful.’