Gijsje Koenderink (Full Professor, BioNanoscience) investigates active and passive mechanics of the cytoskeleton. Research: (1) active matter — motor-filament composite networks generating spontaneous mechanical activity; (2) cell mechanics — cytoskeletal contributions to cell shape, migration, and division; (3) biomaterials — designing synthetic cytoskeletal analogues; (4) optical tweezers and AFM rheology of reconstituted networks. Spinoza Prize 2021. ERC Advanced Grant.