25 Facts About Marion Koopmans

Maria Petronella Gerarda Koopmans was born on 21 September 1956 and is a Dutch virologist who is Head of the Erasmus MC Department of Viroscience.

Marion Koopmans's research considers emerging infectious diseases, noroviruses and veterinary medicine.

Marion Koopmans serves on the scientific advisory group of the World Health Organization.

Marion Koopmans graduated from her Master's degree 1976, and remained there for her doctoral research.

Marion Koopmans earned two graduate degrees in veterinary medicine, and was officially registered as a veterinary microbiologist in 1977.

Marion Koopmans became increasingly interested in virology, and moved to the United States to specialise in viruses that can be transmitted between animals and humans.

From 1991 to 1994 Marion Koopmans completed a fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she studied enteric viruses.

Marion Koopmans joined the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, where she was appointed Chief of Virology.

Marion Koopmans was involved with restructuring the department, and translating their research out of the laboratory and into practical applications for the control of infectious diseases.

Marion Koopmans's laboratory makes use of basic scientific studies and epidemiology to understand the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, to establish their transmission routes and to translate this research base into diagnostic tools.

In 2003, when Influenza A virus subtype H7N7 spread around the Netherlands, Marion Koopmans experienced her first infectious diseases outbreak.

Marion Koopmans was involved with the development of a coordinated public response, working with veterinarians and physicians to quickly develop public health policy.

Marion Koopmans was on the team that found, in 2013, that dromedary camels were an intermediate host for the virus that causes MERS.

Marion Koopmans has since worked with Elmoubasher Farag to test camels for antibodies against MERS.

Marion Koopmans identified three significant bottlenecks to an efficient response; including delays in regulatory approvals, challenges in the logistics of laboratory support and the absence of a structured timeline for funding.

Marion Koopmans leads the World Health Organization centre for Emerging Viral Diseases.

Marion Koopmans is the scientific coordinator of COMPARE, a Horizon 2020 project that looks to develop next generation sequencing techniques for outbreak identification and mapping.

In 2018 Marion Koopmans was honoured by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research for her work on the transfer of viruses from animals to humans.

Marion Koopmans wrote an article for Nature in which she called for a transformation in epidemic preparedness and response.

Alongside leading the scientific response, Marion Koopmans was involved with scientific communication about the virus, making use of social media and media interviews to share up-to-date research with the public.

Marion Koopmans said that as humans occupied more of planet earth, the number of dangerous diseases transmitted from animals to humans would increase.

Marion Koopmans was appointed to the coronavirus disease advisory panel of the European Commission.

On 2 December 2020, Marion Koopmans was appointed to the 13 member team of the World Health Organization's investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

Marion Koopmans is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Holland Society of Sciences.

Marion Koopmans is initiator of this centre that aims to learn from the corona pandemic and better prepare society in the Netherlands for possible new pandemics but disasters.