She earned a PhD in Marine Biology from Gröningen University, Netherlands. She has conducted research in the labs of R McN Alexander (Leeds University, UK), W Nachtigall (Saarbrücken University, Germany), CP Ellington (Cambridge University, UK), JL van Leeuwen (Wageningen University, Netherlands) and Hao Liu (Chiba University, Japan) and has published work in Nature and Science. Her research interests center around bio fluid dynamics and range from swimming to suction feeding, studying fish, insects, and carnivorous plants. She is an associate editor at the Proceedings B of the Royal Society.