Ab Osterhaus
Ab Osterhaus | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 2, 1948 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Nationality |  Dutch |
| Known for | Identification of SARS coronavirus SARS drug Vaccine for H5N1 |
| Awards | M.W. Beijerinck Virology Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Virology |
| Institutions | Erasmus University Rotterdam |
| Doctoral advisor | Marian Horzinek |
Albertus Dominicus Marcellinus Osterhaus, PhD (born 2 June, 1948), known as Ab Osterhaus, is a leading Dutch virologist and influenza expert.
Life
Osterhaus was born into a Roman Catholic family of seven and grew up in Slotermeer, Amsterdam. From 1967 onwards he studied veterinary medicine at Utrecht University and graduated cum laude in 1974. He received his PhD in 1978 at the same university for a dissertation entitled "Feline infectious peritonitis: identification, propagation and epidemiology".
He fulfilled several positions in his 16-year career at the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in Bilthoven, the last of which was head of the laboratory for Immunobiology. During that period he was also a part-time Professor of Environmental Virology at the Institute for Virology in Utrecht, a position he still holds as of 2009. In 1993 he became Professor of Virology at the Medical Faculty of Erasmus University and also head of the Department of Virology at Erasmus University Medical Centre Rotterdam.
Osterhaus played an important role in the identification of the SARS coronavirus. In February 2004, his team found that Pegylated interferon alpha, a drug used for the treatment of patients with Hepatitis C, helps combat the virus that causes SARS. The results were published in Nature in March 2004. On 2 January 2008 an article appeared in PLoS ONE describing a new vaccine for H5N1 virus, developed by Rotterdam pharmaceutical company ViroClinics B.V., a spin-out company of the Erasmus MC where Osterhaus works as scientific advisor.
Professor Osterhaus holds various editorial positions for scientific journals, holds several patents, has been supervisor of more than 35 PhD students and has identified more than a dozen “new” viral pathogens[1] and he is author of more than 700 scientific papers, including more than fifty in world-class international journals like Nature, Science and The Lancet.[2] Dr Osterhaus served as member and chairman of many international scientific committees, most notably four WHO reference centres, the Dutch Influenza Centre, the Dutch Health Council and the European Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI). He is also a member of Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).
Awards and recognition
Professor Osterhaus has been named one of the most important virologists in the world. New Zealand influenza expert Robert Webster described him as "outstanding" and London University College Professor John Oxford from called him "a superstar, absolutely the best". His PhD supervisor Marian Horzinek described his doctoral student as one of the world's most successful virologists with untameable and admirable enthusiasm.[2]
Osterhaus received many awards in his life, including the prestigious "M.W. Beijerinck Virology Award", a prize awarded triennially by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998.[3] On 15 October 2003 Osterhaus was knighted Commander in the Order of the Dutch Lion.[1] Other awards Osterhaus received include the "Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg Prijs" for pharmacotherapy [4], the "Reinier de Graaf Medaille"[5] for clinical medicine and on 13 June 2007 he was awarded the "Grand Prix scientifique" of the Louis D. foundation in Paris. He shared the € 750.000 prize money with National Institute for Medical Research Professor John J. Skehel from London.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Dr. Albert Osterhaus". ESWI. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
- ^ a b Scholtens, Broer (2009-02-10). "De David Beckham van de virologie" (in Dutch). De Volkskrant.
- ^ "M.W. Beijerinck Virologie Prijs" (in Dutch). Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
- ^ "Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg Prijzen" (in Dutch). Saal van Zwanenberg Foundation. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
- ^ "Medailles en onderscheidingen" (in Dutch). University of Amsterdam. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
- ^ "Grand Prix scientifique voor prof.dr. Ab Osterhaus" (in Dutch). Erasmus University Rotterdam. 2007-06-04. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
External links
- Personal home page at Erasmus Medical Centre
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