Applications Rob Goldbach Fonds

Prof. Rob Goldbach was a figure head of Dutch virology and also meant a lot to Wageningen virology. He was professor Virology at Wageningen University & Research from 1986 until his death in 2009. He was very involved with the students and PhD students and always stimulated them to make a fundamental contribution in solving virology problems in an international setting. The fund was established by his late wife Evelien Goldbach in 2010: “Rob was in the middle of his career when he died. Honouring his enthusiasm led me to establish this fund in his memory.”

The Rob Goldbach Fund Board of Trustees is comprised of:

• Prof. Dr. Monique van Oers, Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University & Research
• Drs. Onno Goldbach
• Dr.ir. Richard J. M. Kormelink, Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University & Research

• 2022 - Maria Carla Saleh, PhD, afdeling Virologie, Instituut Pasteur, Parijs, Frankrijk.
  "WHAT THE FLIES GAVE ME: LESSONS ABOUT INSECT ANTIVIRAL IMMUNITY"
• 2018 – Prof. Dr Michael R. Strand : Regents Professor, Department of Entomology, Univ. of Georgia, Athens, USA.
  “EVOLUTION, FUNCTION AND ENDOGENIZATION: LESSONS LEARNED FROM VIRUS ASSOCIATIONS WITH PARASITIC INSECTS”
• 2016 – Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, The Herbert S. Gasser Professor, Departments of Medicine, Molecular Microbiology, Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, USA
  “NEW INSIGHTS INTO ZIKA VIRUS PATHOGENESIS”
• 2014 – Prof. Dr Marilyn Roossinck, Professor, Plant Pathology and environmental Microbiology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, USA.
  “PLANT VIRUS ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION: PATHOGENS TO MUTUALISTS”
• 2012 – Sir Prof. Dr David Baulcomb, Regius Professor of Botany and Royal Society Research Professor, Cambridge University, UK
  “PLANT VERSUS VIRUS: DEFENSE, COUNTER DEFENSE AND COUNTER COUNTER DEFENSE”

The Goldbach MSc Thesis prize is a continuation of the Van der Want MSc Thesis prize and is awarded to an MSc student who was written an excellent thesis in the area of virological research. The prize is awarded during the Rob Goldbach Lecture. The winner of the prize gives a twenty minute account about his/her research in advance of the lecture.

• 2024 - Carlota García Clemente: Exploring the antiviral role and redundancy of gamma-RDRs in siRNA biogenesis and their phenotypic impact on A. thaliana knockout lines.
• 2020 - Joyce van Bree: West Nile and Zika virus non-coding RNAs interact with Aedes aegypti antiviral proteins
• 2018 - Erick Bermúdez Méndez: Development of neutralizing nanobody complexes using bacterial superglues.
• 2017 - Sandra Abbo: Development and optimisation of vaccines against Zika virus, Ross River virus and Chikungunya virus.
• 2015 - Jim Baggen: Chikungunya virus nsP3: Intracellular localization and interaction with host and viral proteins.
• 2013 - Mark Sterken: The structure – function relations of the West Nile virus 3’UTR.
• 2009 - Iris Dautzenberg: Binding capacity of Reovirus σ1 mutant proteins to artificial cell receptors in vitro.
• 2007 - Sabine van der Sanden: Expression of tick antigens for vaccine purposes in the baculovirus expression system.