Nynke Dekker

Nynke Hester Dekker
Born	(1971-04-02) 2 April 1971
Alma mater	Leiden University Yale University Harvard University
Awards	EPS Emmy Noether Distinction (2013) Spinoza Prize (2020)
Scientific career
Institutions	Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft University of Technology École normale supérieure University of Oxford
Thesis	Guiding atoms on a chip (1999)
Website	Dekker Lab

Nynke Hester Dekker (pronounced [ˈniŋkə ˈɦɛstər ˈdɛkər]; born 2 April 1971) is a Dutch biophysicist who since 2024 has been Professor of Biophysics at the Department of Physics, University of Oxford. Before this she was Professor of Molecular Biophysics at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology. Dekker studies individual DNA and RNA molecules and how they interact with proteins in bacteria, viruses and eukaryotes. She described how virus proteins build errors into the virus RNA of viruses. In 2020, she was awarded the Spinoza Prize.

Early life and education

Dekker, daughter of a United Nations staff member, was born in Amsterdam. She studied physics and applied mathematics in the United States. In 1993, she received her bachelor's degree from Yale University where she worked alongside Mark A. Reed in applied physics. She was a graduate student at Leiden University, where she graduated in physics. In 1996, she received her master's degree in atomic physics from Harvard University. At Harvard, she completed her doctorate in nanotechnology, designing microchips that contained caesium atoms. She moved to Paris as a postdoctoral researcher at the École normale supérieure.

Research and career

In 2002, Dekker moved to Delft University of Technology, where she was made full professor in 2008. Her research considers fundamental biological processes. Cellular function involves DNA replication, a robust biological mechanism with a low error rate. Dekker looks to understand the action of molecules and proteins essential for cellular processes (e.g. copying and translating DNA, repairing errors). Her early work investigated the enzyme Type I topoisomerase, which is involved in the replication of DNA and RNA.

Dekker has developed a broad range of single-molecule techniques and nanoanalytical probes, including magnetic and optical tweezers and nanopores. In particular, she developed new capabilities for optical tweezers, including the ability to measure torque.

Dekker spent 2015 on sabbatical at the Francis Crick Institute, where she decided to switch focus to the complex biomolecular processes involved with chromatin replication, which was supported by a ERC Advanced Grant in 2018. Nuclei containing cells called Eukaryotes contain chromatin, a complex of DNA and proteins, which must also be replicated.

Dekker has uncovered how virus proteins insert errors into the viral RMA, which enable viral mutation that protects them from an evolving environment. She was awarded the Spinoza Prize in 2020 for her molecular-level studies of how chemotherapy kills cancer cells.

Awards and honours

• 2006 Elected to the Young Academy of Europe
• 2007 European Young Investigators Award
• 2013 European Physical Society Emmy Noether Award
• 2013 European Research Council Consolidator Grant
• 2018 NWO TOP grant
• 2018 ERC Advanced Grant
• 2019 Elected to European Molecular Biology Organization
• 2020 NWO Spinoza Prize
• 2023 Physica Prize

Selected publications

• Ralph M M Smeets; Ulrich F. Keyser; Diego Krapf; Meng-Yue Wu; Nynke H Dekker; Cees Dekker (1 January 2006). "Salt dependence of ion transport and DNA translocation through solid-state nanopores". Nano Letters. 6 (1): 89–95. Bibcode:2006NanoL...6...89S. doi:10.1021/NL052107W. ISSN 1530-6984. PMID 16402793. Wikidata Q57938707.
• Ulrich F. Keyser; Bernard N. Koeleman; Stijn van Dorp; Diego Krapf; Ralph M. M. Smeets; Serge G. Lemay; Nynke H. Dekker; Cees Dekker (July 2006). "Direct force measurements on DNA in a solid-state nanopore". Nature Physics. 2 (7): 473–477. Bibcode:2006NatPh...2..473K. doi:10.1038/NPHYS344. ISSN 1745-2473. Wikidata Q57938666.
• Stijn van Dorp; Ulrich F. Keyser; Nynke H. Dekker; Cees Dekker; Serge G. Lemay (29 March 2009). "Origin of the electrophoretic force on DNA in solid-state nanopores". Nature Physics. 5 (5): 347–351. Bibcode:2009NatPh...5..347V. doi:10.1038/NPHYS1230. ISSN 1745-2473. S2CID 49361956. Wikidata Q57938533.