Profile of the supervisor
Prof. dr. Wim. J. Quax received his PhD in the field of molecular biology at the Department of Biochemistry from the University of Nijmegen. After a career in the Biotech Industry he was appointed to full professor in Pharmaceutical Biology at the University of Groningen in 1998. Prof. Quax heads an active research line on using directed evolution and protein design technology for researching pharmaceutically relevant proteins. One of his focus areas are enzymes that interfere bacterial virulence. Especially quorum quenching enzymes have been explored by his group. Prof Quax has published > 250 peer reviewed papers and book chapters and he is named inventor on > 45 patents. At present he is the director of the Groningen Research Institute for Pharmacy (GRIP). He is the chairman of the University Committee for Academic Practice.
Expertise
Protein engineering; biologicals; antimicrobials; pharmaceutical production.
Profile of the research group
The research group Pharmaceutical Biology is embedded within the Groningen Institute of Pharmacy (GRIP) and focusses on novel therapeutics originating from living cells (Pharmaceutical Biology). Apart from the discovery and design of pharmaceutical proteins in recent years the group has focussed on quorum quenching acylases that control virulence of among others Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Within the Pharmacy Institute, animal models for testing antimicrobials have been established.
