Oscar Paul Kuipers (

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, May 12, 1956) is a Dutch

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a branch of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the st ...

at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

. His areas of expertise include

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

and

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

, and

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

Study and career

* Kuipers graduated in 1986 in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

. * In 1988 Kuipers obtained an '' EMBO

Fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

'' for three month at the lab of Dr. J. Gallay of the

University of Paris-Sud Paris-Sud University (), also known as the University of Paris — XI (or as the Orsay Faculty of Sciences, University of Paris before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, ...

Orsay Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. A fortifie ...

(

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) to study ''time-resolved''

Fluorescence Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with colore ...

. * In 1989 Kuipers received a SHELL fellowship to give lectures in the United States at Prof. Mahendra Jain (Newark), Prof. Michael Gelb (Seattle) and Prof. Yang (San Francisco) and on a conference about ''Time Resolved'' Fluorescence. * In 1990 Kuipers obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

at the University of Utrecht in

with the

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

''Probing the mechanism of pancreatic phospholipase A2 by protein engineering''. * From 1990 to 1997 he worked as a project leader on molecular genetics at the Department of Biophysical Chemistry of NIZO food research, a contract research center in Ede (

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

). * From 1997 to 1999 he was head of genetics and research leader of the section Microbial Ingredients of the same institute. * From 1999 Kuipers is professor and head of the ‘Molecular Genetics of

Prokaryotes A prokaryote (; less commonly spelled procaryote) is a single-celled organism whose cell lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. The word ''prokaryote'' comes from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'before', and (), meaning 'nut' ...

’ group of the ''Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute'' (GBB) of the

Honours and awards

* 2015 elected board member, European Academy of Microbiology (EAM) * 2013 elected member, European Academy of Microbiology (EAM) * 2012 iGEM Team Groningen: European and World Champion 2012 (Kuipers was supervisor/coach/coordinator of the iGEM team Groningen from 2008-2015) * 2011 elected member, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) * 2011 Simon Stevin Meester Award (Science and Technology Award of STW, NWO, the Netherlands) €500,000

Administrative and management functions

* 1999 – 2000 member of the founding committee of the ''Groningen Genomics Centre'' of the University of Groningen * 1999 – 2007 member of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the ''Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute'' (GBB) of the University of Groningen * 2000 – 2007 chairman of the ''Genetics Cluster'' of the University of Groningen * 2011 – present member of the scientific advisory board of the LOEWE Institute for Synthetitic Microbiology (Synmikro) in

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

(

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) * 2013 – present confidential advisor on scientific integrity, Faculty of Mathematics- and Natural Sciences, University of Groningen Groningen * 2015 – present chairman and co-founder of the ''Centre for Sustainable Antimicrobials (CeSAM)'' of the University of Groningen * 2015 – present cofounder, ''Centre for Antimicrobial Research (CARES)''. Chairman & Director: Prof. Gilles van Wezel.

Research

The research of Kuipers and his research group is focused on curiosity driven

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

with a keen eye on biotechnological applications. Kuipers has so far supervised 21 postdoctoral researchers and 35 PhD students in their doctorate research. At the moment (October 2015) he supervises 18 PhD students and 7 postdoctoral researchers. He has been invited more than 180 times to national and international conferences, seminars and congresses to give a lecture. An important topic of research is the study of the

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

and

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

. Among others, the

cellular differentiation Cellular differentiation is the process in which a stem cell changes from one type to a differentiated one. Usually, the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation happens multiple times during the development of a multicellula ...

of bacteria is investigated. Bacteria growing in a culture can develop different characteristics, while their

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

remains unchanged. Kuipers stated: ‘Our research has many applications, for example the improvement of protein production in

industrial fermentation Industrial fermentation is the intentional use of fermentation in manufacturing processes. In addition to the mass production of fermented foods and drinks, industrial fermentation has widespread applications in chemical industry. Commodity ch ...

'. Another important subject is the production and modification of

peptide Peptides are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. Polypeptides that have a molecular mass of 10,000 Da or more are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty am ...

s. These modified peptides (called ''lantibiotics''), are made by bacteria, and can serve as

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

. Modified peptides are chemically more stable and retain their function longer than unmodified peptides. This is beneficial for medical applications as a novel class of antibiotics. Further areas of focus are the molecular biology of: competence,

sporulation In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

and

bistability In a dynamical system, bistability means the system has two Stability theory, stable equilibrium states. A bistable structure can be resting in either of two states. An example of a mechanical device which is bistable is a light switch. The ...

Bacillus subtilis ''Bacillus subtilis'' (), known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium, found in soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, humans and marine sponges. As a member of the genus ''Bacill ...

, the reconstruction of gene networks,

antimicrobial peptides Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also called host defence peptides (HDPs) are part of the innate immune response found among all classes of life. Fundamental differences exist between Prokaryote, prokaryotic and eukaryota, eukaryotic cells that may ...

, antibiotics, mechanisms of

pathogenesis In pathology, pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes . Descript ...

cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some Cell type, cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, ...

anchoring, controlled

gene expression Gene expression is the process (including its Regulation of gene expression, regulation) by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product that enables it to produce end products, proteins or non-coding RNA, ...

systems, the subcellular localization of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

, stress response,

quorum sensing In biology, quorum sensing or quorum signaling (QS) is the process of cell-to-cell communication that allows bacteria to detect and respond to cell population density by gene regulation, typically as a means of acclimating to environmental disadv ...

, regulation of the C- and N-

metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...

, natural gene transfer methodologies, plant-biocontrol by Bacilli and

Biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

applications.

Research for industry

* 2014 – 2017 Corbion, ''Corbion Thermophiles.'' Prime investigator €530k * 2010-2013 Purac, ''Competence in industrial Bacillus strains.'' Prime investigator €420k * 2004 – 2007 DSM Bakery Ingredients B.V. ''Sense: Screening for protein secretion using secretion stress indicators.'' Prime investigator €640k * 2001 – 2005 Frico + DSM ''Directing Starters Together 2'' (several partners). Prime investigator €554k * 2000 – 2006 Intervet International B.V. ''Expression of heterologous proteins in Bacillus''. Prime investigator €433k

Research by bachelor and master students

From 2008 Kuipers is supervisor, coach and coordinator of the '' iGEM student team Groningen''. iGEM is a worldwide competition in the field of

synthetic biology Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a multidisciplinary field of science that focuses on living systems and organisms. It applies engineering principles to develop new biological parts, devices, and systems or to redesign existing systems found in nat ...

between teams of students from all over the world. The team from Groningen won in the annual in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

(

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) organized international competition several gold medals (2008 to 2016). In 2012, when the team from Groningen became world champion, the research concerned a study of an alternative method to determine whether

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

is spoiled: the '' Food warden ''. This method makes use of genetic engineered

responsive to the volatiles of the

decomposing Decomposition is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is essen ...

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

. A

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

makes the decomposition visible.

Publications

Prof. dr. O.P. Kuipers published 365 articles in scientific papers, 2 books and 18 chapters in books. 34 publications appeared in 2015. Kuipers articles have been cited over 26 148 times and he has a

H-index The ''h''-index is an author-level metric that measures both the productivity and citation impact of the publications, initially used for an individual scientist or scholar. The ''h''-index correlates with success indicators such as winning t ...

of 84 and an i10 index of 278.Hirsch index van Oscar Kuipers op Google Scholar
/ref> This means that 80 of his articles have been cited at least 80 times and that 278 articles have been cited more than 10 times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuipers, Oscar 1956 births Living people 20th-century Dutch chemists Dutch organic chemists Biotechnologists Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Academic staff of the University of Groningen Utrecht University alumni Scientists from Rotterdam 21st-century Dutch chemists