Work experience since graduating
2014 – ... : Head Microbial Ecology Department, NIOO-KNAW
2014 – 2016 : Honorary Scientist & Advisor, RDA, South Korea
2009 – 2014 : Associate Professor Plant Pathology, Wageningen University
2006 – 2008 : Visiting Professor, University Copenhagen, Denmark
2001 – 2006 : Fellow Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)
1998 – 2009 : Assistant Professor Plant Pathology, Wageningen University.
1995 – 1998 : Postdoc Soil Microbiology, USDA-ARS, WSU, USA.
1994 – 1995 : Research Associate, Plant Microbiology, Utrecht University
Masters (MSc) / Doctorate (PhD)
Study/University : Biology, Utrecht University, Netherlands (1989)
PhD Topic/University : Rhizosphere microbiology, Utrecht University, Netherlands (1994)
Scientific Publications:
2018, 2019 - Top 1% most cited - Cross Field category (Clarivate Analytics/Thomson Reuters)
Research activities
2020 - 2030 : Board member and workpackage leader Gravitation program Microp (
www.microp.org)
2020 - 2025 : Coordinator NWO Groot project 'Unwiring regulatory networks in the root endosphere'
2019 : Sabbatical Dept. Microbiology, University Malaga, Spain
1997 - present : Supervisor MSc, PhD and postdoc projects
2007 : Sabbatical Oregon State University, USA
2006-2008 : Visiting Professor, Microbiology, University Copenhagen, Denmark
1998 : Sabbatical INRA, Dijon, France
1995 – 1998 : Postdoc USDA-ARS, Washington State University, USA
1985/1986 : MSc-internship at ICARDA, Cairo, Egypt
Other professional activities
- Board member Graduate School PE&RC (2020 - present)
- Reviewer national and international grant applications
- Reviewer for various international scientific journals
- Board member of the Dutch Centre for Soil Ecology (2012 - present)
- Coordinator Research Area I, National NGI-EcoGenomics consortium (2005 – 2011)
- Member International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME); American Society for Microbiology (ASM); Dutch Society for Microbiology (NVvM); Dutch Phytopathological Society (KNPV)
- Chair KNPV-Phytobacteriology group (2009-2013)
- Member graduate school Experimental Plant Sciences (EPS)
- Coordination of practicals (VWO-Campus) for high school students (2003-2008)
Promotor of PhD students
- completed: Jorge T de Souza, Tran Thi Thu Ha, Maria Bergsma-Vlami, Gerbert Hiddink, Irene de Bruijn, Le Nhu Cuong, Song Chunxu, Xu Cheng, Yiying Liu, Viviane Cordovez, Ruth Gomez-Exposito, Juan Perez-Jaramillo, Thiago Schlemper, Je-Seung Jeon, Ohana Costa, Anne van der Meij, Du Chao, Kay Moisan
- ongoing: Eline Ampt, Kay Moisan, Adam Ossowicki, AnaShein Lee-Diaz, Getahun Mitiku, Sewunet Abera, Stalin Sarango-Flores, Dario Ramirez, Muhammad Rizaludi, Xinya Pan, Linda Gouka