In 1984 she obtained her PhD-degree with a thesis entitled Reversibility of chronic airflow obstruction.

[2] After graduation, she worked for the Longfonds (then called Astmafonds), a Dutch health organisation.

Postma and co-workers found out that genetic variants occurring in people suffering from allergies also occur in people suffering from asthma and those with a higher risk of myocardial infarctions.

Five years later, she received the Spinoza Prize, the highest academic honour in the Netherlands.

[3][6] In May 2015 she received the prestigious Trudeau Medal from the American Lung Association.