Prof. Dr. Daniela Kraft

Daniela Kraft is a Full Professor in Soft Matter Physics at the Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory at Leiden University, The Netherlands. She obtained her Ph.D. cum laude from the University of Utrecht (highest distinction in NL). Supported by a Rubicon grant, she joined the Center for Soft Matter Research at New York University, USA, as a postdoctoral researcher in 2011. Since establishing her group in 2013 in Leiden, her research has focused on understanding self-organization in biological and soft matter systems by designing simplified model systems, ranging from anisotropic colloidal particles to lipid membranes and microswimmers.
Prof. Kraft is the recipient of an ERC starting grant (2017), as well as a VENI (2013) and a VIDI (2020) personal grant from NWO (the Netherlands Science Organization). She has been awarded the paper of the year award from Biophysical Journal (2017) as well as the Athena prize (2019) from NWO, and her work has been highlighted amongst others by Nature and Science and the Guinness Book of World records.