Sara van den Berg

231 A Curriculum vitae CURRICULUM VITAE Sara van den Berg was born on March 21 st 1990 in Velp, gemeente Rheden, the Netherlands. She finished her secondary school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Arnhem in 2008. Subsequently, she started her bachelor studies Biomedical Sciences in Utrecht University. After 3 years, she took a gap year to board the study association M.B.V. Mebiose. After obtaining her degree Bachelor of Science in 2013, she enrolled in the master program Infection and Immunity at Utrecht University. During her master studies, she performed her first internship at the Center for Translational Immunology of the University Medical Centre in Utrecht (UMCU) under supervision of Dr. Kiki Tesselaar and Dr. José Borghans, where she focussed on T-cell proliferation and the stability of T-cell Receptor Excision Circles (TRECs). For her second internship, she went to Cambridge University in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Here, she worked in the lab of Dr. Mark Wills, where she assessed the control of cytomegalovirus by immune cells in an in vitro viral dissemination assay. During her master studies, she also completed the minor Fundamentals of Business and Economics. In May 2015, she started as a PhD candidate at the Center for Immunology of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in collaboration with the Center for Translational Immunology of the University Medical Centre in Utrecht (UMCU). Her supervisors were Prof. Dr. Debbie van Baarle, Dr. José Borghans and Dr. Jelle de Wit. The research of her PhD project focussed on the effect of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection on ageing of the immune system. The results obtained during her PhD are described in this thesis. Sara her life was not only focussed on her studies or her work, as she was also busy with activities concerning student representatives, her volunteer work giving LGBTI+ guest lectures at high schools, playing soccer in the best friends team imaginable, enjoying life with her family and friends and – most importantly – fell in love with Julia.