I am Professor of Linguistics — Syntax and Language Variation and Head of the Linguistics Division at Utrecht University. I study theoretical syntax, with a focus on how language contact shapes grammar, particularly in minority and heritage languages.

​

My work has expanded into science governance and research policy, driven by the belief that scientific knowledge is impoverished when whole communities of researchers are structurally excluded from producing it. I co-authored the Dutch Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, advise the European Commission through JRC initiatives, and serve on the ISC Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science.

​

I founded the Heritage Language Syntax platform, connecting syntactic theory with heritage language data across institutional and geographic boundaries. I am Editor-in-Chief of Isogloss, a diamond open-access journal for Romance linguistics with broad international participation, and am series co-editor of Language Science Press's Open Generative Syntax.

​

I also founded Your Academic Auntie, a free mentoring initiative for early-career researchers worldwide, complemented by a Microfund for researchers in low- and middle-income countries.