Molecular Diagnostics : Part 2: Clinical, Veterinary, Agrobotanical and Food Safety Applications

W.B. van Leeuwen
Willem van Leeuwen was born  in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He studied Microbiology on the University of Applied Science in Rotterdam (BSc in 1975) and specialized in Medical Biology on the University of Applied Science in Etten-Leur, The Netherlands (MSc in 1982). In 2002 he wrote his thesis “Binary typing of Staphylococcus aureus” and became a specialist in Medical Molecular Microbiology at the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, department of Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. The population structure analysis and host-pathogen interaction of Staphylococcus aureus were the subjects of study during the post-doctoral phase in this department. From august 2002 through 2007 he is responsible for the unit Molecular Diagnostics (validation and implementation of new diagnostic platforms). In February 2007 he was invited to become lecturer Innovative Molecular Diagnostics at the University of Applied Science of Leiden, the Netherlands and became manager of the research center, “Toplab” in Leiden. In September 2013, he was appointed as professor at the University of Applied Science Leiden.

Since 1996, Willem is a member of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), Dutch Society of Medical Microbiology (NVMM) and the Study group of Molecular Diagnostics of Infectious Diseases (WMDI). Willem is involvedin the post-graduate course “Molecular Diagnostics” at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as director and co-organizer, since 2006. Since 2008, he is tutor instructor of the master course Infection and Immunity at the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Willem is an international scientific Expert for diagnostics and subtyping of MRSA for QCMD (Quality Control Molecular Diagnostics) since 2005.
Since 2011, Willem is staff member / instructor of the Dutch National Committee for Medical-Biological Research Training (MMO) in the Netherlands.
Last, but not least, Willem is honorary member of the Iranian Society of Microbiologists since 2010.

Willem is editor/author of multiple books in the field of Molecular Diagnostics:

1.       E. van Pelt-Verkuil and W.B. van Leeuwen (editors/author). Moleculaire Diagnostiek. (2nd Ed; in Dutch) 2003. Syntax media; ISBN 9789077423950
W.B. van Leeuwen and C. Vink (editors/author). Molecular Diagnostics: techniques and applications. IVA publishers, 2009.
John P. Hays and W.B. van Leeuwen Eds. The Role of New Technologies in Medical Microbiological Diagnosis and Research. 2012. Bentham Books publishers. elBN:978-1-60805-316-2.

R. te Witt
René te Witt is born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and is a real “Rotterdammert”. He studied Medical Microbiology and worked as a technician in a diagnostic laboratory for several years, all in Rotterdam. In 2007 he transferred to the Erasmus MC, also in Rotterdam, to write his thesis “Clinical Microbiological Diagnostics 2.0”. After finishing his PhD in 2012, he took charge of the subunit Molecular Diagnostics at the department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases of the Erasmus MC. Here, he was responsible not only for the day-to-day routine diagnostics, but also for development and implementation of new molecular assays, quality assurance and research projects,.
During 2012, René started his training to become Medical Molecular Microbiologist (MMM), both at the Erasmus MC and the LUMC in Leiden. In 2015 he graduated as MMM and moved to Rijswijk to work as MMM at NMDL (Netherlands Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory), a service laboratory specialized in molecular diagnostics in medical microbiology, virology and pathology.

René is a member of the Dutch Society of Medical Microbiology (NVMM) since 2007 and is one of the editors of the Netherlands Magazine for Medical Microbiology (NTMM) since 2013.
Furthermore, René is member of and participates in the Study group of Molecular Diagnostics of Infectious Diseases (WMDI) since 2007.

René joined the editorial team of this book in 2015 because of his excellent skills and broad experience in modern molecular diagnostics in combination with his current position in a rapid expanding laboratory using state-of-the-art molecular diagnostic techniques.