Meet Laurens: Fueled by protein powder and pull requests, Laurens de Bruin is the kind of guy who codes just as hard as he trains. With a mind for software and a barbell in hand, this 25-year-old AI graduate is bulking up more than just his GitHub profile. Whether he’s pushing himself at the gym or crafting elegant code at ASReview, one thing’s for sure: Laurens doesn’t do anything halfway.
Favorite ELAS: the Scientist 🧪
From Brabant exile to software savant
Born in Utrecht but raised in the southern province of Brabant, Laurens quickly realized it wasn’t the place for him—mainly due to a deep-rooted aversion to carnival. “I’ve hated it since I was a kid,” he says. “Being forced into a freezing cold parade, dressed up, pretending to have fun… no thanks.” So when it came time for university, he made a clean break. Utrecht was nice, but Nijmegen won him over instantly with its cozy, student-filled campus. “It felt like a village made just for students.”
A love for biology and computer science naturally led him to study Artificial Intelligence. “AI is basically trying to give computers a brain,” he explains. “So you need to understand how the brain works first.” But while many of his classmates dove headfirst into neuroscience, Laurens was already on a different track. “I skipped all the neuro courses and went straight for data science and programming. That’s where I really found my passion.”
From student to data scientist
Laurens’ journey with ASReview started with a single email. After finishing his bachelor’s thesis early, he had time to spare and wanted to do something useful. “I asked my thesis supervisor if she had any work for me,” he says. “At first she said no, and then—without much warning—I found myself looped into an email with people from the pediatric formulary at the UMC. They needed help with ASReview and their data was in all the wrong formats.”
What started as a side gig turned into something much bigger. Laurens helped reformat data, created reusable scripts, and soon joined the FORAS project, where he helped merge five or six different datasets into one massive, clean dataset of 50,000 papers. “I wrote a script that not only removed duplicates but also tracked which dataset each record came from. So in the final version, we had just one entry per record—but with full traceability. That dataset became the backbone for multiple screenathons.” In the ASReview world, Laurens is the guy who gets everything ready before screening even begins. “They sometimes call it data engineering or data management,” he says. “Basically: how do we store this, how do we structure it, and how do we get it into ASReview?”
A coder with a cause
Laurens may not be planning a future in academic research, but ASReview has shaped his professional mindset in unexpected ways. “University teaches you how to program, but not how to work in a team or write production-ready code,” he says. “Here, I’ve learned how to use GitHub properly, work with pull requests, and think about clean, efficient, reproducible code.”
And it’s not just about functionality—it’s about pride. “I know people will see my code. That motivates me to do it right.” He sees GitHub as his portfolio, his professional handshake. “My CV links straight to it. It’s basically my LinkedIn.” Describing himself as enthusiastic, creative, and social, Laurens thrives in a team. “I want people to be happy I’m on their team. That drives me.”
“Writing clean code is like training at the gym—you’ve got to do it right if you want real results.”
From open-source to open road
While his background is in AI, Laurens now leans fully into data science. “I’m way more interested in building tools that people actually use—something with a great user experience. Like Spotify. That’s the dream: to create something useful and beautiful.” And ASReview has been the perfect playground. “I get to work on both backend and frontend. I’ve picked up so many skills, and now we’re even starting to explore using ASReview with image data. That’s super exciting.”
His ideal career path? Starting at a large corporate company where he can quickly gain exposure to many different systems, tools, and ways of working. “I want to understand how everything fits together—how real-world software and infrastructure actually run. Once I have that foundation, who knows what comes next?”
Climbing walls, writing code
One of his favorite ASReview memories? “Going to a climbing gym with Rens, Rutger, and Rens’ son. We’d do deep thinking sessions, then climb a few routes. It was the perfect mix—physical and mental resets. I loved it.” When he’s not coding or climbing, you’ll probably find Laurens in the gym. He’s all in when it comes to fitness—aiming to bench 100 kg, eat clean, sleep well, and live long and healthy. “I don’t drink or smoke. I take my health seriously.”
Also: don’t challenge him to a geography quiz. “At one point I knew all 193 countries and every U.S. state. I even tried memorizing all the world flags using mnemonic tricks. Like Qatar’s flag? It has a jagged edge, like a cartel. So: ‘Qatar = cartel.’ That helps me remember.” His hobbies are many and often intense, thanks in part to his self-diagnosed (and confirmed) ADD. “I go through phases, but when I’m into something, I go all in.” Oh—and one more thing on the bucket list: Japan. “That’s the dream trip.”
Want to join Laurens and be part of ASReview during your studies? We’re always searching for enthusiastic students who want to contribute to our success. Contact us to explore the opportunities.
