[1] She completed a PhD at the Université libre de Bruxelles, working on non-linear optical phenomena of light.

[1] After a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Auckland, Vanholsbeek joined the faculty in 2005, rising to full professor in 2023.

She subsequently promoted the use of new processes for hiring staff, and selecting award recipients and speakers to reduce bias, and chaired the equity committee.

[4] Vanholsbeeck's has investigated the use of quantitative fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor bacterial viability and thus the efficiency of antibiotics.

Such quotas are already in use in Australia, for instance the National Health and Medical Research Council requires half of mid-career and senior investigator grants to be awarded to women and non-binary applicants.