Dr. Lucienne Vonk obtained her PhD in Cell Biology at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on the use of chondrocytes and chondrons from various cartilaginous tissues for cartilage tissue engineering. After completing her PhD in 2010, she joined the department of Orthopaedics at the UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands, as a postdoctoral researcher. There she investigated the role of microRNAs in osteoarthritis and mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) differentiation and the paracrine functions of MSCs for cartilage and meniscus repair. In 2015 Dr. Vonk was selected for the first ICRS scientist travelling fellowship and in 2016 she received the Young Investigator Award by ICRS. Besides, she was selected for the Steyn Parvé program to stimulate female leadership in science in 2018. In August 2019, Dr. Vonk started a new position as the Global Head of Science & Development at CO.DON in Berlin, Germany. Here she focuses on the preclinical development of cell-based treatments for cartilage repair and joint preservation.