Ioana Ilie receives first NextGenChem award
2 July 2026
The NextGenChem community was initiated twelve years ago by a group of young chemists wanting to strengthen their bonds and speak with one voice. Since 2025, their initiative has been supported by the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society KNCV through its NextGen programme. It supports young chemists in their professional and personal growth, investing in themselves, their careers, and the chemical community. It helps them to excel, increase their visibility, and, most importantly, establish a valuable network of contacts between young researchers. This not only benefits their own future but also the future of chemistry, helping to build an innovative and sustainable society.
With the NextGenChem award, of which Ioana Ilie is the first recipient, the KNCV now honours young group leaders for their ability to inspire and support young researchers and to build bridges between large groups of scientists. The award recognises the excellence of young scientists working within chemistry and chemical engineering, either within academia or in industry.
A strong role model
Ioana Ilie has played an important role in establishing the NextGenChem community, initiating the biennial ‘NXTGN Leaders in Dutch Chemistry’ symposium and helping to organise it in 2025. The symposium brings together assistant professors, tenure trackers and VENI/VIDI/ERC-StG laureates to build a stronger network, receive mentoring and develop a toolbox for managing and funding interdisciplinary teams. Ioana’s commitment to building and supporting a community of young group leaders was also evident in her role as former president of APNet, the Assistant Professor Network Netherlands. The jury lauded her visibility as a strong role model for younger scientists and applauded her role in APNet, demonstrating how she was even looking beyond her own scientific discipline to forge strong connections between early-career researchers.
Pioneering research at the interface of chemistry, biophysics and computation
At the Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Ioana Ilie has built a thriving computational research group and pioneered the computational peptide and nanoparticle engineering research line at the University of Amsterdam. Her work focuses on understanding and controlling how nanoparticles interact with biological membranes and designing bioinspired therapeutics, with applications in drug design and delivery. Her lab further investigates protein misfolding and amyloid-related diseases, addressing some of the most pressing and complex challenges in modern medicine and human health.