Profile of the supervisor
Prof. dr. Jan Maarten van Dijl is a professor in Medical Microbiology, especially Molecular Bacteriology, at the University of Groningen since 2004. He is experienced in the analysis of bacterial gene expression, protein secretion and host-pathogen interactions. Recent research activities focus on the emerging field of non-invasive real-time infection imaging. J.M. van Dijl has coordinated several European research networks, teaches classes in Microbiology, Biotechnology and the writing of grant applications, and he was awarded a “Teaching Excellence Fellowship 2015” by the Board of the University of Groningen. He has published >210 peer-reviewed papers and 16 patent applications, and supervised numerous bachelor/master students, 47 ESRs and 15 ERs.
Expertise
Molecular biology of Gram-positive bacteria
Profile of the research group
The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) is one of the largest medical centres in the Netherlands. In this clinical setting, health-oriented research and training of students at all academic levels are major activities. The Groningen University Institute for Drug Exploration (GUIDE) is one of 4 research institutes within UMCG, where the main objectives are to (1) integrate clinical, biomedical and pharmaceutical research towards development of novel drugs, and (2) educate young researchers in the complete spectrum of biomedical research. UMCG/GUIDE take part in ALERT through the Molecular Bacteriology group of Prof. van Dijl. This ‘MolBac’ group is an international team of 3 senior researchers, 4 postdocs, 14 ESRs, and several master students. Excellent facilities for DNA, RNA and protein analyses, including whole-genome and RNA sequencing, advanced microscopy, time-resolved quantification of gene expression in growing bacteria and experiments with small animals are available.
