Amsterdam
Meet Our Team
Our team consists of highly skilled and experienced researchers, technicians, and students who share a passion for scientific discovery. With diverse backgrounds and expertise, we work collaboratively to achieve our common goal of advancing knowledge through saliva research. Get to know some of our team members below:
About Saliva Research Lab
Saliva Research Lab is a research lab based in Amsterdam that specializes in various fields of saliva research. Our team is dedicated to exploring the benefits and unique properties of saliva to advance scientific knowledge.
Prof Dr Floris Bikker
Head of Department of Oral Biochemistry
Floris Bikker is head of the department. The main aim of his (laboratory) research, which has both fundamental and clinical characteristics, is to unravel de role of saliva for oral health. His current research lines are focused on the development of novel sialagogues, saliva diagnostics, and the structure-function of salivary proteins. Bikker is affiliated to ACTA’s Saliva Clinic, were dry-mouth patients are diagnosed and treated.
Dr Henk Brand
Associate Professor
Henk Brand's primary research area is the relationship between systemic diseases and the rate of salivary secretion, biochemical composition and subjective feeling of mouth dryness (xerostomia), with the aim of early diagnosis/monitoring of diseases. In addition, he investigates the formation of salivary stones and the relationship between saliva and tooth erosion.
Dr Toon Ligtenberg
Associate Professor
Toon Ligtenberg's research focuses on the protective properties of saliva against infections. Factors such as flow rate, salivary agglutinin, secretory IgA, and amylase, all play important roles in maintaining a healthy mouth. It is worth noting that susceptibility to infections can be affected by physical exercise. While exercise is generally beneficial, excessive physical activity can lead to a higher risk of infections and changes in saliva composition. Ligtenberg's ultimate aim is to utilize saliva as a diagnostic tool for preserving oral and general health of the athlete.
Dr Wendy Kaman
Assitant Professor
After working for 10 years at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam Wendy Kaman continued her research on the diagnostic potential of proteolytic biomarkers at ACTA in 2019. The added value of salivary proteases in monitoring both oral and general health is currently one of her main research topics.
Kamran Nazmi
Lab manager
Kamran Nazmi has been a lab manager of the Department of Oral Biochemistry for 26 years. Nazmi specialises in peptides, peptide synthesis, capillary electrophoresis, HPLC, MALDI-TOF, flowcytometry, and various biochemical assays. He also designs laboratory equipment.
Richard Pots
Research Technician
Richard Pots joined the Department of Oral Biochemistry in 2024. He is specialized in different molecular biology processes such as the expression of biomolecules and investigation of molecular interactions via pull-down assays and ligand-binding assays. This includes a variety of cloning techniques, the generation of expression vectors and purification of proteins.
Dr Zainab Assy
Postdoctoral Researcher
Zainab Assy's primary research area is dry mouth and saliva. She is focusing on improving the diagnostic methods in Sjögren's disease patients. Furthermore, Assy is also investigating intervention therapies for dry-mouth patients.
Hanan al Habobe
PhD candidate
Hanan al Habobe is a PhD candidate and lecturer in Chemistry at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. Her research is focused on standardizing saliva collection protocols and investigating the potential application of salivary biomarkers in distinguishing between the salivary biomarker profile of healthy individuals and those at risk of developing metabolic diseases. Al Habobe's primary research centers around abdominal obesity.
Joanita van Santen
PhD candidate
Joanita van Santen is a PhD candidate performing research on salivary biomarkers for the diagnosis of Sjögren’s disease. Van Santen is analyzing the composition of biomarkers, ranging from ions to proteins, specifically focussing on their intra-oral regional differences.
Wiktoria Potocka
PhD candidate
Wiktoria Potocka is a PhD candidate at the Departments of Oral Biochemistry and Periodontology. Her research project investigates the effect of olfactory stimulation on salivary flow in patients with xerostomia and/or hyposalivation.
Dinesh Durán Jiménez
PhD candidate
Dinesh Durán Jiménez is a first year PhD candidate. As of January 2023 nitrous oxide is placed on list 2 of the Opium Law as a substance of abuse. However, currently no instruments are available for the police to enforce this law. For the national police Jiménez is researching whether it is possible to detect nitrous oxide in biofluids of humans that have inspired nitrous oxide with a focus on exhaled breath, blood, and saliva.