New Scientific Director for the Institute of Biology Leiden
Gilles van Wezel has been appointed the new Scientific Director of the Institute of Biology Leiden starting September 1st, 2018. Van Wezel succeeds Herman Spaink, who has been the Scientific Director since September 2014.
The Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) is an internationally oriented institute for research and education in biology and is part of the Faculty of Science. The IBL represents the core of modern biological research in Leiden.
About Gilles van Wezel
Gilles van Wezel is Professor of Molecular Biotechnology and Director of the cluster Microbial Biotechnology and Health at the IBL. He is also a guest professor at the Netherlands Ecology Institute (NIOO-KNAW). His research focusses on uncovering the global regulatory networks that control the antibiotic production and development of Streptomyces bacteria and its application for antibiotic discovery. A major driving force behind his work is the strong resonance between fundamental and applied research. In 2011 van Wezel and his team won the Academic Year prize with ‘Antibiotica Gezocht!’’, a project that brings the wonders of antibiotics to the classroom.
Van Wezel is also Director of the Centre for Antimicrobial research (CARES) and board member of both the Netherlands Centre for One Health (NCOH) and the Netherlands Antibiotic Development Platform (NADP).
A new challenge
Van Wezel: ‘I am really looking forward to this new challenge, which I will take on together with Anne Maren as the new managing director. My appointment as the new director of IBL starts at a time where the financial landscape is changing rapidly, with more focus on public-private partnerships, and the increasing importance of the Netherlands Science Agenda. These are in fact opportunities, if we play the game in the right way. Also, our position towards - and collaboration with - the sister institutes within the Faculty is very important. This is true both for research and for education. For the latter, think about the new International Bachelor of Biosciences. I am convinced that also in the coming years we will see new opportunities and achievements. I am grateful to Herman Spaink and to Laura Zondervan, our previous managing director, for their efforts on behalf of the institute.’