Prof Bas Teusink is head of the Systems Bioinformatics group, which he runs together with prof Frank Bruggeman. The group further consists of dr Douwe Molenaar (microbiology, bioinformatics, data analysis), dr Rob van Spanning (microbiology, bioenergetics), dr Johan van Heerden (single-cell physiology, microbiologist) and dr Herwig Bachmann (0.35 fte, microbiologist affiliated also to NIZO food research), supported by dr Jurgen Haanstra (managing director AIMMS, teaching coordinator) and dr Brett Olivier (biochemist, scientific programmer, data manager of AIMMS).
The lab contains a mix of disciplines, from theoretical to experimental, with state-of-the-art facilities for cell physiological work, from fermentation equipment to single-cell time-lapsed microscopy. These experimental activities are combined with modeling and theory, from the development of multivariate data analysis methods, to detailed kinetic models, to open-source software and standard developments for genome-scale metabolic models for dissemination to the scientific community, not in the least industrial partners.
Prof Teusink’s main research interest is the design principles of biological networks. He studies how fundamental constraints and functional purposes of networks lead to the system specifications that determine the fittest designs. He combines excellence in such fundamental studies with industrially-oriented applied research, as is evident from the Midterm Carreer Award he received in 2014 from the Lactic Acid Bacteria Industrial Platform for excellent research with industrial relevance.
He has been advisor for research programmes of DSM, Dupont USA and Braskem Brasil, as well as juror in several fundamental and applied funding schemes in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. He is part of the editorial boards of Molecular Biotechnology, BMC Systems Biology, BioEssays, Current Opinions in Systems Biology and Cell Systems.
He has coordinated both national (Kluyver Center for Genomics of Industrial Fermentations, Netherlands Consortium for System Biology) and international research programmes (Era-IB, SysMo-LAB). He has >100 publications, of which 3 patents.
