Piet Gros (born July 31, 1962 in

Dokkum Dokkum is a Dutch fortified city in the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland. It has 12,669 inhabitants (February 8, 2020). The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the ''bolwerken'' (bulwarks) ...

) is a Dutch chemist and professor biomacromolecular crystallography at

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 2010 he received the NWO

Spinoza Prize The Spinoza Prize () is an annual award of 1.5 million euro prize money, to be spent on new research given by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The award is the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. It is named after the philosopher Baruc ...

for the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of the C3 protein, which plays a central role in the

complement system The complement system, also known as complement cascade, is a part of the humoral, innate immune system and enhances (complements) the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inf ...

and contributes to

innate immunity The innate immune system or nonspecific immune system is one of the two main immunity strategies in vertebrates (the other being the adaptive immune system). The innate immune system is an alternate defense strategy and is the dominant immune s ...

Biography

Gros was born in Dokkum,

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 ...

. He studied chemistry 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 ...

, where he graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a master's degree. Five years later Gros received his PhD degree cum laude at the same university, with a thesis on

protein crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science of determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract in specific directions. By measuring the angles and ...

. Subsequently he became a postdoctoral researcher at the

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

and later at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. In 1994 Gros was given a position at Utrecht University to conduct experimental research towards new applications for protein crystallography. In 2002 he was given the position of full professor. From 2007 until 2010 Gros was head of the department of chemistry and from 2012 to 2016 he was scientific director of the

Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research The Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research is a research institute at Utrecht University. The Bijvoet Centre performs research on the relation between the structure and function of biomolecules, including proteins and lipids, which play a role ...

. Gros received an ERC Advanced grant of the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

in 2008, is a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

(KNAW) since 2010 and in April 2013, Gros became Knight in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

, when he received a Royal Decoration for his scientific achievements.

Research

The main expertise of Gros is in the area of protein crystallography methodology and its application to large human plasma proteins and cell-surface receptors and membrane proteins. Among his findings are the molecular mechanisms that underlie key steps in the human immune defense by the complement system, such as the mode of action of complement component 3 and component 8. Other research in his lab has focussed on the adhesion of

von Willebrand factor Von Willebrand factor (VWF) () is a blood glycoprotein that promotes primary hemostasis, specifically, platelet adhesion. It is deficient and/or defective in von Willebrand disease and is involved in many other diseases, including thrombotic thro ...

(A1 domain) to its platelet receptor GpIb and the structures of pathogenic bacterial outer-membrane proteins and the movement of individual atoms within the defined protein structures.

Honours and awards

In 2010, Gros received the NWO

for the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of the C3 protein. This protein is part of the oldest part of the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...

that is present in the human body, the

. Using

structural biology Structural biology deals with structural analysis of living material (formed, composed of, and/or maintained and refined by living cells) at every level of organization. Early structural biologists throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries we ...

techniques such as protein crystallography, the research group of Gros studies structures and chemical interactions that are at the basis of immunological processes such as the complement system. He is the recipient of the 2018

Gregori Aminoff Prize The Gregori Aminoff Prize is an international prize awarded since 1979 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in the field of crystallography, rewarding "a documented, individual contribution in the field of crystallography, including areas concer ...

, an international prize awarded since 1979 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in the field of crystallography. In 2024, he was awarded the ICS Legacy Award of the International Complement Society and the Bijvoet Medal of the Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research.

References

External links

Research group of Gros
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gros, Piet 20th-century Dutch chemists 1964 births Living people People from Dokkum Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Spinoza Prize winners Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion 21st-century Dutch chemists Academic staff of Utrecht University Bijvoet Medal recipients