Marleen Visker

Tell us about yourself (Who are you? Where are you from? What is your educational background?)

Marleen Visker, researcher at the Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre of Wageningen University, the Netherlands. MSc and PhD degrees in Plant Breeding / Plant Sciences obtained at Wageningen University.

What is your area of expertise?

Genetics, both quantitative and molecular, applied to animals, humans and plants.

Where does your focus lie within your current project(s)? (related to methane)

Explore the genetic variation in methane emission in the Dutch dairy cow population and increase the understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying variation in methane emission.

What would be the added value for you of joining an international researchers network? (such as the METHAGENE network, or the RuminOmics project)

Easy access to colleagues working in the same area of research, to discuss and reflect with them on strategies, successes and failures regarding measuring methane for large numbers of animals for the purpose of genetic analyses, in order to learn from each other, to prevent inventing the wheel multiple times, and to ensure developing and using a valid method.

What and/or who inspired you to make a career in science?

Curiosity to understand the genetics of (complex) traits.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

Dealing with the whole package: design the experiment, collect and analyse the data, interpret and communicate the results.

What is your most stand-out or surprising moment in science so far?

The discovery that the position of a leaf on a potato plant is important for its resistance to disease.