AB OSTERHAUS, Professor of Wildlife Virology and Virus Discovery, Hannover, Germany 

Professor Osterhaus has been Head of the Department of Viroscience at Erasmus MC Rotterdam until 2014, is currently Director of the Center of Infection Medicine and Zoonosis Research and Guest-Professor at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. He has a long track record as a scientific researcher and Principal Investigator of numerous major scientific projects. At Erasmus MC, Professor Osterhaus has run a diagnostic virology lab with more than 40 staff and a research virology lab with over 150 personnel. His research programme follows a novel integrated “viroscience” concept, bringing together world- leading scientists in molecular virology, immunology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, and intervention studies on human and animal virus infections. Among the major accomplishments are the discovery of more than 70 new viruses of humans and animals (e.g. human metapneumovirus, coronaviruses and influenza viruses), elucidation of the pathogenesis of major human and animal virus infections, and development of novel intervention strategies. This has enabled health authorities like the WHO to effectively combat disease outbreaks like SARS and avian influenza. The spin-offs, Viroclinics-DDL, Vironovative and CR2O, together employing more than 500 people, allow effective testing and refining of diagnostic tools and other intervention strategies and illustrate additional societally relevant successes. The international recognition of Professor Osterhaus is further highlighted by major prizes, guest lecture invitations, (co-)organiserships of international meetings and editorships of scientific journals. 

Professor Osterhaus has acted as mentor for more than 85 PhD students and holds several key patents. He is also the author of more than 1360 papers in peer-reviewed journals, together cited 90,000 times, with an H index 130. He is inventor on many patents and has been Chair of the European Working Group on Influenza (ESWI) for the past decades and is presently chair of the Global One Health Commission. He organised numerous international scientific conferences on influenza and other emerging infections, and received numerous prestigious awards. He holds several senior editorships and is Chief Editor of One Health Outlook, a newly established journal of the Springer-Nature group. He is member of the Dutch and German National Academies of Sciences, member of the Belgium Academia of Medicine, and Commander of the Order of the Dutch Lion.