Henne Holstege majored in biochemistry at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. During her studies, she spent a year at Harvard University in Boston, where she investigated the molecular mechanisms of satiety. She did her PhD at the Netherlands Cancer Institute where she studied the somatic genetic aberrations associated with the development of breast cancer. After her PhD she applied her knowledge of molecular genetics to study the genetic factors underlying the increased risk of cognitive decline, but also those that increase the chance to maintain high levels of cognitive function while achieving extreme ages. In addition to her positions as group leader at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience and Amsterdam University Medical Center, Holstege is an associate professor at the department of Human Genetics of the Amsterdam University Medical Center where she runs an independent research section: Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Aging. She is a staff-member of the Amsterdam Alzheimer Center and she is affiliated with the Delft Bioinformatics Lab of Technical University Delft.

Henne Holstege joined the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience in November 2024, and will soon be recruiting her first Belgium-based team members.