Dr M. Gnade (1956) has been named Professor by Special Appointment in the Archaeology of Pre-Roman Cultures in Central Italy in the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The chair has been created by the Allard Pierson Foundation.

Gnade studied Classical Archaeology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and has worked at the UvA since 1987, since 1988 as a lecturer in Classical Archaeology at the Amsterdam Archaeological Centre. She has led various excavations in Italy, including ones in Oria and Valesio in Apulia. She has been the executive director of the UvA's Satricum project in Central Italy since 1990. This internationally renowned project, which draws large groups of student participants each year, concentrates on the excavation of a Pre-Roman settlement and the publication of the results of the excavation.

Gnade is a member of the working committee for the local council of the province of Latina, which was founded to try and obtain European funding for the conservation of the cultural heritage of the province. She is also the academic consultant for Latina on the subject of its archaeological heritage, and on attempting to get the region opened up for archaeological investigation. In her role as consultant she works to promote the establishment of a local archaeological museum, and acts as an intermediary between large landowners, local governments, and the archaeological office of the Lazio region. In addition, she leads the negotiations for the establishment of an international earthenware and restoration educational institute in Le Ferriere (Latina province).

Over the course of her career, Marijke Gnade has become increasingly specialized in the archaeology of Pre-Romans in Central Italy, and in particular in the interaction between diverse ethnic and cultural groups in classical society. This was the subject of the dissertation with which she obtained her PhD from the University of Amsterdam in 2000. The archaeological recognizability of historically known peoples is of central importance to this research. Gnade will continue in this line of investigation in her position as Professor.

Gnade also holds various editorial positions, including serving on the editorial board of the Satricum series. She is currently preparing a major exhibition entitled Satricum: Thirty Years of Dutch Excavation which will open shortly in Le Ferriere (Satricum). A book of the same title will appear to accompany the exhibition.