Ghofran’s story: Starting again in Leiden’s biotech sector
For Ghofran Dhay, building a new life in the Netherlands meant rebuilding her career from the ground up. Through determination and a love for biology she never lost, she found her place in Leiden’s biotech community.
“I had two choices: start again or stay where I am.”
Today, Ghofran Dhay is a research technician at Leyden Labs in Leiden, but reaching that point required rebuilding a career she had already spent years creating.
By the time she arrived in the Netherlands as a refugee in 2017, biology had already been part of her life for years. She had studied it and taught, all while raising three children. Then she found out her bachelor’s degree was not recognised here.
If she wanted to move into research and lab work, she would have to go back to university and study for another degree in her mid-thirties. It was not what she had planned, but leaving biology behind did not feel right either.
A curiosity that never really went away
Ghofran’s interest in biology started long before university or lab work. As a child in Syria, she loved animals and spent a lot of time watching how they behaved. She had cats, birds and a turtle, and later became interested in anatomy and how the body works. That eventually led her to study biology and become a teacher.
Years later, in the Netherlands, she decided to stay in the same field but move closer to research. After learning Dutch to the level she needed, Ghofran enrolled in a bachelor’s programme at Leiden University. Most students around her were much younger, while at home she was raising three children and adjusting to a new country.
“The first period was the most difficult,” she says. “I was really afraid that I wasn’t going to make it.” Once she got through those first months, things started to feel more manageable. “I said: yes, I can do it.”
Fourty applications and one way in
University was one challenge. Getting into the industry was another. Towards the end of her degree, Ghofran needed an internship and started applying. Around 40 applications later, she had received plenty of rejections, while some companies never replied at all. “I learned to be resilient and not lose faith,” she says. “Just try, apply again and apply again.” Eventually, two companies said yes.
Ghofran chose CellPoint, a biotech startup at Leiden Bio Science Park working on treatments for cancer patients. Her father had cancer at the time, which made the choice particularly personal. At the end of her internship, CellPoint asked her to stay, giving Ghofran her first job in Dutch biotech. When the company was later acquired by Galapagos, she moved with it and got to experience a much larger biotech environment.
She still remembers receiving that first job offer. “All the work, all the tears, all the moments that I thought I wasn’t going to make it were behind me,” she says.
“That was the moment that I felt I found my place.”
From one opportunity to a career
By early 2026, when Ghofran had to look for a new role, she was in a very different position from the student sending out dozens of internship applications. She had built experience in biotech, knew the sector around Leiden and was already familiar with Leyden Labs, a company she had been following since the COVID pandemic.
Leyden Labs works on preventing respiratory viral infections. After seeing how much COVID affected everyday life, that focus stood out to Ghofran. Today, her work entails designing and performing experiments, analysing data and helping move the research forward. Research takes time, and the result is not always something you see straight away.
The company recently received around €40 million in investment, which Ghofran sees as a sign that others believe in the work too.
“People believe in our mission. What we are doing really counts.”
Much of Ghofran’s Dutch career has unfolded in Leiden, from an internship to her current role. Research institutes, startups, larger companies and the university are close together, making it easier to find new opportunities.
“Leiden is really a nice place to start anything, especially in biotech.”
Finding home along the way
Building a career was only one part of settling in. Before coming to the Netherlands in 2017, Ghofran had left Syria and spent time in Turkey. Starting over was not always easy. She remembers feeling lonely and struggling with the culture shock.
Learning Dutch helped, but she soon realised language was only part of it. Ghofran started volunteering in two places, including spending time with elderly people. It helped her practise Dutch, meet people outside her own circle and understand the culture better.
Her children were finding their own way at the same time. The younger two adapted relatively quickly, while her oldest daughter, who was eleven when they arrived, needed more time to settle into school.
“Seeing her overcome those early challenges and grow into a confident young woman now studying Law at Leiden University is something I am incredibly proud of.”
Watching them make friends, do well and feel at home mattered just as much as the steps Ghofran was making in her own career.
“That was the moment that I felt the Netherlands is home.”
These days, Ghofran lives in Wassenaar, just outside The Hague, with her family and four cats. Her childhood love of animals clearly stayed with her. One of them is called Antar (meaning 'brave' in Arabic), after a cat she had in Syria and still misses.
Almost ten years after arriving, Ghofran is working in science again and her children have grown up here.
“When I came to the Netherlands, I wasn’t just building a career,” she says. “I was also building a life.”
When asked what she would tell someone in a similar position, Ghofran keeps it short:
“Please don’t give up.”
About Leyden Labs
Leyden Labs works to free the world from the burden of respiratory viruses. They create Mucosal Protection Products, a new generation of preventative nasal sprays that can protect people from existing and future viruses. Introducing a brand new category of medicines requires specific skills and experiences, as well as dedication and drive. To achieve this ambition, they continue to strengthen their team.