Peter J. Van der Spek

I have a background in academia and pharmaceutical industry. My field of expertise is bioinformatics and analysis of biomolecular big data. My career history illustrates the necessary skills in leadership, education, training, scientific expertise domain knowledge besides a strong motivation to successfully carry out the proposed research project. I have a broad background in molecular biology and understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying human disease, illustrated by an h-index (57) and a (46.64) Rg score. My specific training and expertise in molecular genetics and diagnostic patient stratification for precision medicine applications can be of added value in this exponentially growing field. A proven track record exists from large Dutch CTMM projects EU FP7 and H2020 grants involving over 640M Euro illustrates applications and obtained grants that have formed the basis of the current bioinformatics hardware infrastructure and software workflows present at ErasmusMC that will be used for this rare genetic defect causing PANS. My research career started identification of cancer pre-disposition genes. Over time it became clear that various dominant inherited developmental craniofacial disorders involved the same genes as mutated in cancer such as FGFR1,FGFR2 & FGFR3. During my pharmaceutical career my focus has been on therapeutic intervention in the fields of reproductive medicine and neuropharmacology. The identification of novel receptors in provided novel insight into ways to interfere with biological processes at the molecular level related to disease diagnostics, disease prognosis and biomarkers indicative for progression of disease. As PI or Co-Investigator on several private and university- and EU-funded grants, I laid the groundwork for various research lines in the fields of Cancer, Cardiology, Neurology, Immune/Transplantation and Craniofacial development. The strong ties with industry allowed us to build a strong bioinformatics team that illustrated various successes over time in various therapeutic areas, documented in the list of publications. In addition, I successfully administered the projects (e.g. staffing, research protections, budget), collaborated internationally with other researchers in the USA, Australia, UK, Italy, Belgium and Japan resulting in several peer-reviewed publications in above mentioned areas. As a result of these previous experiences, I am aware of the importance of frequent communication among project members and of constructing a realistic research plan including goals and deliverables, timelines, and budget in a clear Gant chart. The current application builds logically on my prior work.