Here you will find information about the current board members of the Central PhD Council.

Kevan DeCuypere – Faculty of Humanities

Kevan is a PhD candidate at the Amsterdam School of Historical Studies (ASH). In her research, she reads James Joyce’s epic novel, Ulysses, alongside contemporary political theory to examine the relationship between ontology and political violence in the twenty-first century. She is interested in literary modernism, continental philosophy, and apocalyptic mythologies. Kevan began her PhD in 2022 and joined the Central PhD Council in April 2025, where she currently represents the Faculty of Humanities.

Philine vom Baur – Economics and Business

Philine is a PhD candidate in Strategy and International Business at the Amsterdam Business School (ABS). Her research focuses on Sport Innoavtion Management and is embedded in a European Sport Innovation Index Project led by the Amsterdam Centre for Business Innovation (ACBI). She aims to investigate the role and impact of innovations and innovation management in the field of sport. Philine started her PhD in October 2024 and joined the Central PhD Council as a representative of Economics and Business (EB) in February 2025.

Anke van den Dries – Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Anke is a PhD candidate at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR). Before starting the PhD, Anke worked as a social worker and coach/supervisor for social professionals. She specialized in social work with sex workers. For the PhD, Anke is interested how social work practitioners fight against systemic obstacles or social injustices in their everyday practices. She started the PhD in January 2023 and joined the Central PhD Council on behalf of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences as of November 2024. As an external PhD, she hopes to specifically also bring that perspective to the council. PhD colleagues are welcome anytime to contact Anke with ideas or concerns.

Amy Crean – Faculty of Law

Amy is a PhD candidate at the Department of International Law. Her research examines how environmental entities use legal personality, drawing on disabled encounters with the law to critically appraise how personality can serve environmental interests. Amy began her PhD in September 2024 and joined the CPC as a representative  for the Law Faculty in December 2025.

Kelly Wong – Faculty of Science (chair)

Kelly Wong is a PhD candidate in the Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics. Her research aims to advance the understanding of the effects of climate and environmental changes on corals, as well as to identify mechanisms that enhance coral stress tolerance under future ocean conditions. Kelly started her PhD in August 2022 and joined the Central PhD Council board as the FNWI representative in April 2024.

Maria Dede - Faculty of Medicine

Maria is a PhD candidate at the Department of Biomedical Engineering & Physics at the Amsterdam UMC. Her research focuses on the development of techniques that can be implemented at the crime scene to enhance societal safety and support efficient crime fighting. She aims to translate scientific innovations into practical forensic tools that can be used in real-time investigations. She started her PhD in April 2024 and represents the Faculty of Medicine in the Central PhD Council since July 1st, 2025.

Luri Mimoso – Faculty of Dentistry

Luri is a PhD candidate at the Department of Preventative Dentistry at  ACTA. His current research focuses on understanding how microbial, behavioural, and sociocultural factors influence oral and gut microbiome and its link to health during the first 1,000 days of life. By integrating cohort data with ecological and molecular approaches, his work aims to uncover mechanisms linking early-life exposures to long-term health outcomes. He started his PhD in September 2025 and represents the Faculty of Dentistry in the Central PhD Council since December 2025.