L. (Lubbert) Dijkhuizen

Personalia

name: Dijkhuizen, Lubbert
email: l.dijkhuizen rug.nl
date of birth: March 3, 1951
place of birth: Doornspijk, The Netherlands
nationality: Dutch

Positions

1990 - now Full Professor in Microbiology, University of Groningen, head of the Microbial Physiology Research Group
2001-2007 Director Groningen Genomics Centre, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Medical Centre Groningen, and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
2004-2009 Director Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Research Institute (GBB) (with 13 research groups in Biology and Chemistry, with 125 PhD students)
1999-2004 Chairman of the Board of the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Research Institute (GBB)
1998-2008 Director Centre Carbohydrate Bioprocessing (CCB) (TNO, University of Groningen)
1998-now Director BioExplore High Throughput Screening Facility (MIBITON)
1997-1999 Member Faculty Council, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
1992-1998 Member University Council, University of Groningen
1984-1990 (Senior) University Lecturer in the Department of Microbiology, University of Groningen
1979-1984 Postdoctoral period (with Dr. Sandy Primrose, Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, UK), and Department of Microbiology, University of Groningen

Education

1979 July 6, Ph.D. Thesis 'Regulation of formate and oxalate metabolism in Pseudomonas oxalaticus'. Promotor: W. Harder. Topic: regulation of autotrophic and heterotropic metabolism; mixed substrate utilization; chemostat fermentation.
1975 - 1979 Ph.D. research, Department of Microbiology, University of Groningen (NWO)
1969 - 1975 M.Sc. Molecular Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Majors: microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology. Minors: plant biology, biochemistry.

Current research interests, activities, projects  

• microbial physiology and biotechnology of Gram-positive bacteria
• functional genomics and systems biology of Streptomyces and Rhodococcus
• regulation of primary and secondary metabolism in Streptomyces
• functional characterization of surface-active proteins in Streptomyces
• synthetic biology of antibiotic production in Streptomyces
• sterol/steroid bioconversions in Rhodococcus: synthesis of bioactive steroids
• engineering of substrate/product specificity of steroid acting enzymes
• structure/function relationships of sterol/steroid acting enzymes
• structure/function relationships of starch and sucrose acting enzymes
• directed evolution of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase, amylomaltase and branching enzymes 
• engineering of substrate/product specificity of glucansucrase and fructansucrase enzymes
• enzymic degradation of (hemi)cellulose in plant cell walls for bioenergy production
• synthesis of prebiotic oligo- and polysaccharides by probiotic lactobacilli
• structural and functional characterization of carbohydrate compounds (NMR, MS, HPLC)
• slow release of glucose by manipulation of the rate of starch degradation in food and feed
• construction of attenuated mutants of pathogenic bacteria for vaccine development
• high throughput screening in metagenomics, genome mining and enzyme evolution
• metagenomics and bioinformatics of mixed communities in microbial fermentation (sludge, waste, termite gut, cattle rumen and human colon)

Publications and other output/activities

Scientific

• > 250 refereed publications (>5400 citations; h index (Web-of-Science) = 38).
• > 30 chapters in books, monographs, conference proceedings and reports.
• 25 patents.
• > 100 (international) seminars and presentations (scientific as well as informational).
• Recipient of the Wubbo Ockels Prize for Scientific Research of the City of Groningen (2006).

Educational

 

• 45 PhD students supervised
• member Management/Coordination team Biology, University of Groningen (1999-now)
• chairman Curriculum Committee Biology, University of Groningen (2000-2002)
• chairman Examination Board Curriculum Biology, University of Groningen (1998-2000)

Other

 

• member and vice-chairman board Earth and Life Sciences ALW-NWO (2006-now)
• chairman Task Force Life Sciences NWO (2010-now)
• initiator and founding member of the Carbohydrate Competence Centre (17 mEuro budget) with 10 companies and 5 knowledge institutes (2009)
• initiator of the Centre for Synthetic Biology, University of Groningen (10 mEuro budget),  together with the Zernike and Stratingh institutes (2008)
• member executive board Netherlands Proteomics Centre (NPC) (2004-2009)
• member board Kluyver Centre for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation (2007-now)
• member board Centre BioSystems Genomics (CBSG) (2008-2010)
• focal point Groningen themes 2 and 3 in Top Institute Food & Nutrition (TIFN) (2007-now)
• member board Nederlandse Vereniging voor Microbiologie (NVvM)
• member board KNG (www.kng-groningen.nl)
• member board Wubbo Ockels Foundation (www.wubboockelsprijs.nl)
• recipient of numerous national and international research grants\
• reviewer for numerous journals and granting agencies

+ five key publications:

1. J.C.M. Uitdehaag, R. Mosi, K.H. Kalk, B.A. van der Veen, L. Dijkhuizen, S.G. Withers, B.W. Dijkstra (1999) - X-ray structures along the reaction pathway of cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase elucidate catalysis in the a-amylase family. Nature Structural Biology 6:432-436.
2. M.F.B.G. Gebbink, D. Claessen, B. Bouma, L. Dijkhuizen and H.A.B. Wösten (2005) – Amyloids - a functional coat for microorganisms. Nature Rev. Microbiol. 3: 333-341.
3. S.A.F.T. van Hijum, S. Kralj, L.K. Ozimek, L. Dijkhuizen, G.H. van Geel-Schutten (2006) – Structure-function relationships of glucansucrase and fructansucrase enzymes from lactic acid bacteria. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 70: 157-176.
4. R. van der Geize, K. Yam, T. Heuser, M.H. Wilbrink, H. Hara,M.C. Anderton, E. Sim, L. Dijkhuizen, J.E. Davies, W.W. Mohn, L.D. Eltis (2007) - A gene cluster encoding cholesterol catabolism in a soil actinomycete provides insight into Mycobacterium tuberculosis survival in macrophages. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104:1947-1952.
5. W. de Jong, H.A.B. Wosten, L. Dijkhuizen, D. Claessen (2009) – Attachment of Streptomyces coelicolor is mediated by amyloidal fimbriae that are anchored to the cell surface via cellulose. Mol. Microbiol. 73: 1128-1140.