1. Albertus Dominicus Marcellinus Erasmus "Ab" Osterhaus was born on 2 June 1948 and is a leading Dutch virologist and influenza expert.
12 Facts About Ab Osterhaus
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An Emeritus Professor of Virology at Erasmus University Rotterdam since 1993, Ab Osterhaus is known throughout the world for his work on SARS and H5N1, the pathogen that causes avian influenza.
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Ab Osterhaus was born into a Roman Catholic family of seven and grew up in Slotermeer, Amsterdam.
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Ab Osterhaus then obtained his PhD degree at the same university in 1978 with a dissertation entitled Feline infectious peritonitis: identification, propagation and epidemiology.
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Ab Osterhaus fulfilled several positions in his 16-year career at the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, the last of which was head of the laboratory for Immunobiology.
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Ab Osterhaus did not rest and set up a new institute looking at the zoonotic side of virology at TiHo in Hannover, Germany.
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Ab Osterhaus holds a position at Artemis BV in Utrecht.
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Ab Osterhaus played an important role in the identification of the SARS coronavirus.
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Ab Osterhaus served as member and chairman of many international scientific committees, most notably four WHO reference centres, the Dutch Influenza Centre, the Dutch Health Council and the European Scientific Working group on Influenza.
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Ab Osterhaus is a Member of Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2001.
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On 15 October 2003 Ab Osterhaus was knighted as Commander in the Order of the Dutch Lion.
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Ab Osterhaus maintains he did nothing against the law and that he does not personally benefit from the order.