Bredenoord studied theology and political science at Leiden University and obtained her doctorate in medical ethics at Maastricht University in 2010. In 2014 Bredenoord was installed as a member of the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). In 2017 she was appointed professor of Ethics of Biomedical Innovation at UMC Utrecht.

Prof. Bredenoord has held many administrative/advisory positions during her academic career, including for the ZonMw board and with the Supervisory Board of Amsterdam UMC, and has gained a great deal of social and managerial experience. In addition, she has been a member of the Senate for D66 since 2015 and parliamentary group chair since 2019.