I’m Mark from the Netherlands, where I completed my master’s in “Modeling for the Life Sciences” in 2023 at the University of Groningen. During my master's I focussed on modelling the spatial movement of antibiotic resistance plasmids in a bacterial population. Besides that my last project focussed on the effect of older siblings on their younger sibling's early life survival. 

In my PhD I'm focusing on evolutionary human health. My PhD project initially aims to explore the spatial distribution of historical causes of death in Finland from 1750 to 1850. Given the significant variations in human health in contemporary Finland, I plan to later compare the historical patterns I uncover with those seen in more recent times. I am also interested in how environmental, cultural, and sociodemographic factors impact these patterns. Through this research, I hope to shed light on how far back in history these health disparities were already present and potentially explain why they emerged in the first place.