Aarnoud van der Spoel obtained his MSc in medical biology from the University of Utrecht, and a PhD in cell biology and genetics from Erasmus University Rotterdam, both in The Netherlands. He did the majority of the research towards his PhD in the laboratory of Dr. Alessandra d'Azzo at St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, where he investigated the cell biology of enzymes involved in lysosomal storage disorders. For his postdoctoral training, Dr. van der Spoel moved to the University of Oxford, UK, where he studied the biochemical and biological effects of alkylated imino sugars that target sphingolipid-metabolizing enzymes. In 2009, he accepted a faculty position in the departments of pediatrics and biochemistry & molecular biology of Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where he was awarded tenure in 2016.