Marisa Westers (full name Theresia Maria Westers) graduated in Clinical Chemistry -specialization Hematology- in Groningen, The Netherlands, in 1989. She started working as a laboratory technician at the Central Laboratory for Blood Transfusion, nowadays Sanquin, Amsterdam) with a focus on flow cytometry and molecular diagnostics in haematological malignancies. Since 1998, she has worked at the department of Hematology of the Amsterdam UMC, location VU University Medical Centre, Cancer Centre Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Next to flow cytometry diagnostics, she was involved in research projects concerning T cell subsets in Multiple Sclerosis and immunotherapy in myeloid leukemia. In 2005, she finished her PhD on the subject of ‘Dendritic cell-based immunotherapy in myeloid leukemia´ under supervision of prof.dr. G.J. Ossenkoppele and prof.dr. A.A. van de Loosdrecht. After finishing her PhD, she continued working at the department of Hematology of the Amsterdam UMC, location VU University Medical Centre, Cancer Centre Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Here, she coordinates flow cytometry diagnostics in haematological neoplasms. Her current research subject is MDS diagnostics, risk stratification and immunopathogenesis. As senior scientist she coaches several PhD students. She is a member of the International/European LeukemiaNet Working Party on MDS Flow Cytometry (iELN-MDSFlow, ≥2008) and the I4MDS working group of EHA (≥2023). She actively participates in education regarding flow cytometry for in-house colleagues, in university curricula and an outreach program. Next to that, she is a speaker on MDS-flow cytometry-related subjects in (inter)national settings such as lectures on scientific findings and MDS-related flow cytometry courses e.g. for the Dutch Society of Cytometry and the ESCCA Prague School of Flow Cytometry.