Biosketch

Prof. Peter van Haastert was trained in biochemistry and cell biology at the university of Leiden and chemistry at the university of Bremen. He obtained his PhD in 1984 at the university of Leiden on the processing of chemotactic signals in Dictyostelium. He did postdoc work at the Johns Hopkins Medical School (Baltimore) and moved to the University of Groningen in 1989. Central question in his research is how cells move and navigate using chemical cues. He uses a systems biology approach that include genetics to make mutants, biochemistry to unravel molecular interactions and pathways, statistical biophysics to define the mechanism of cell movement and microscopy to integrate this information in a living cell.

Peter van Haastert retired August, 2020. He has published >240 peer-reviewed papers that have been cited >10,200 times (ISI Web of Science). Besides research Peter has served the University of Groningen in many positions, among others Chair of the University Research Council (1999-2009), vice-dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering (1996-1999 and 2010-2014), and as member and chair of the GBB board. He is editor of Molecular Biology of the Cell.