People

I am a Professor in Medical Systems Biology and the University Medical Centre Groningen. The research in my lab is focused on complex regulation of mammalian lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, eventually aiming at network-based therapies. We combine dynamic computer simulations with quantitative metabolomics, 13C fluxomics, proteomics and transcriptome analysis, and in depth biochemical analysis. This allows to predict and understand ‘emergent’ properties, those properties that are counterintuitive ...

The main area of my expertise concerns protein sorting and secretion in Gram-positive bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus.

The Gram-positive bacterium B. subtilis is well known for its high capacity to secrete proteins into the extracellular milieu, which has led to its exploitation as a "cell factory" for secreted proteins. Nevertheless, the secretion of heterologous proteins of pharmaceutical importance is frequently inefficient. This applied problem has been a major ...