Curriculum of Gerrit van Meer
Prof. dr. Gerrit van Meer
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Prof. Dr. Gerrit van Meer |
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"From my experience, an education in biochemistry is a wonderful basis for a research career in biomedical sciences, particularly in molecular cell biology."
I have always been fascinated by the question why eukaryotic cells synthesize such a variety of membrane lipids. How does a cell use these lipids for its
physiological functions? As approaches to these questions we study (1) how and where the various lipids are synthesized and degraded, and how the respective enzymes are regulated, (2) by what
proteins lipids are transported within and between cellular membranes, and (3) how lipids function in the sorting, transport and activity of membrane proteins. So far, our research has brought us to
the discovery of lipid rafts as platforms of protein sorting and signaling, to a role of multidrug transporters in moving lipids across membrane bilayers, and to the crucial role of specific lipids
in pigmentation.
Curriculum Vitae
Name: van Meer, Gerardus Franciscus Bernardus Petrus
Academic Degree: Ph.D., 1981 Utrecht University
Date of Birth: 1/8/1953
Place of Birth: Klundert, The Netherlands
Academic Record
1971-1977
Biology with Chemistry, Utrecht University; with honors
1977-1981
Ph.D. studies, Dept. of Biochemistry, Utrecht University
Thesis advisors: Dr. Jos Op den Kamp and Dr. Laurens van Deenen.
Thesis: Transbilayer distribution and mobility of phospholipid in mammalian plasma membranes
1981-1983
Postdoc at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany, with Dr. Kai Simons, Cell Biology Program (EMBO Fellowship)
- The difference in lipid composition between the two plasma membrane domains of epithelial cells
- Fusion
of lipids into the plasma membrane of living cells
1983-1986
Staff Scientist in the EMBL Cell Biology Program
- The tight junction as a barrier to lipid diffusion
- Intracellular lipid sorting in polarized epithelial cells
1987-1997
Staff Scientist at the Dept. of Cell Biology, Medical School, Utrecht University
1988-1993
Senior Fellow of the Royal Academy (KNAW)
1993-1997
Associate professor (UHD), Dept. of Cell Biology, Utrecht University
1997-2001
Professor of Cell Biology and Histology, Dept. of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center (AMC), University of Amsterdam
2001-Dec 2010
Professor of Membrane Enzymology, Bijvoet Center and Institute of Biomembranes, Department of Chemistry, Science Faculty, Utrecht University.
Jan 2010-Dec 2010
Director of the Chemistry department of the Beta Faculty of University of Utrecht.
