Marie Huysman graduated from Ghent University as a Master in Biotechnology. In 2011, she obtained her PhD in Biotechnology (Ghent University), investigating the molecular regulation of the cell cycle in diatoms and assessing the influence of environmental factors such as light and nutrients on key cell cycle regulators. After more than 5 years of postdoc experience, she joined the European Research Council (ERC) Executive Agency where she has been working since May 2016 as a project adviser at the Scientific Department, being involved in the organisation of proposal evaluations and monitoring of ongoing projects.