Kiki Waeijen-Smit, MSc. is a junior research associate at the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Her work is focused on exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), specifically on early diagnostic exacerbation biomarkers, the microbiota and host-microbiome interactions. With a background in Health- and Biomedical Sciences, she aspires to combine the laboratory and clinical aspects of science. Her interests in the immune system, disease pathophysiology and personalized medicine are perfectly combined in the early diagnostic bioMARKers in Exacerbations of COPD (MARKED) study. This study is conducted at Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands, and will result in a PhD Thesis. Drs. Waeijen-Smit has published in peer-review journals including Internal and Emergency Medicine.