Julia Wijns is a joint PhD researcher in the Government and Law Research Group at the University of Antwerp under supervision of Prof. dr. Esther van Zimmeren, and at KU Leuven, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, under supervision of Prof. dr. Isabelle Huys. Her PhD project is part of the EU Marie Sklodowska Curie Action doctoral network ‘HotBio’, funded by the EU Commission under Horizon Europe. Her project is hosted by the company ABS-INT BV, part of 3BIO, under supervision of Dominic Muyldermans, Chief Legal officer and co-CEO, marking the industrial character of her PhD. The topic of the PhD concerns the confluence of Intellectual Property Rights on inventions based on genetic resources and Access and Benefit sharing of genetic resources as primarily articulated in the Convention on Biological Diversity. The main aim of her research is to explore opportunities to align respective legal systems.
Julia has a background in Biotechnology, holding a bachelor's degree in Biology and Medical Laboratory Research from Leiden University of Applied Sciences and a masters degree in Biotechnology from Wageningen University. She furthermore has a background in law, holding a bachelor’s degree in Law from Leiden University and a master’s degree in Law and Technology from Tilburg University. She gained hands-on experience on the intersection of law and (bio)technology by completing internships in intellectual property law in a patent attorney office and in a law firm, as well as in environmental law in academia at Erasmus university, and Tilburg Institute for Law and Technology.
Areas of Expertise:
- Intellectual Property Rights
- Biotechnology
- Biodiversity Law
- Sustainability
- Law and Technology
Selected Publications:
- Reins, L. and Wijns, J. (2024) ‘The “Safe and Sustainable by Design” Concept – A Regulatory Approach for a More Sustainable Circular Economy in the European Union?’
Seleted Projects:
- 2023-2026 – EU Marie Sklowadowska Curie Actions doctoral network – HOTBIO consortium