Activiteiten:
PRESENT FUNCTIONS IN FUNDAMENTAL & APPLIED RESEARCH
Advisor to the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Ghent, Belgium, since 1999
Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Panel of FuturaGene (Israel/Brazil), since 2011
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board CTC S.A. (Brazil), since 2015; and BGI/ICG (China), since
2016.
PRESENT FUNCTIONS IN SCIENCE POLICY
President of the Public Research & Regulation Initiative (PRRI), Delft, Holland and Brussels Belgium,
since 2005
FORMER EDUCATIONAL AND UNIVERSITY FUNCTIONS
Director of the Bureau d’Étude, Technical School for the Nuclear Industry, Mol, Belgium (1956-1960)
Full Professor, Molecular Genetics, Ghent University, Belgium (1985-1999)
Director of the Department of Genetics, Ghent University-Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB),
Belgium (1979-1999)
Part-time professor at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) (1972-1989)
FORMER FUNCTIONS IN FUNDAMENTAL & APPLIED RESEARCH
Member, Board of Directors and Scientific Advisor of Advanced Genetic Sciences (AGS), Oakland
California, US, 1979-1986.
Founder, Scientific Director and member of the Board of Directors of Plant Genetic Systems N.V.,
1982 - 1996
Founder and Member of the Board of Directors of CropDesign (Belgium), 1998 – 2004
Member, Board of Directors of Avesthagen (Bangalore, India), 1999 – 2010
Member, Science Advisory Committee/Council of Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Heraklion, Crete), International Advisory Board at King Abdulaziz University (Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), 2010-2012, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy,
2000- 2013, Alellyx (São Paulo, Brazil), 2003-2009, CIB-CSIC (Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas), Madrid, Spain, 2007-2009, Scientific Advisory Board of Instituto Tecnológico Vale (Brazil), 2013-2019, Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee Danforth Centre (St. Louis - USA), 1999 – 2010, Member of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) (Ibadan, Nigeria), 1991-1996, Scientific Advisor Tibotech (Belgium), Extracta (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1998-2008, Biotechnology advisor ICARDA (International Centre for Agriculture Research in Dry and Arid Areas) (Aleppo, Syria), 1998-2006, Board of Governors and Scientific Advisory Board of Weizmann Institute of Science, (Rehovot, Israel), 2001-2010
FORMER FUNCTIONS IN SCIENCE POLICY
UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador for Agribusiness, 2014-2022
President of EFB (European Federation of Biotechnology), 2003-2015
President of BSBA (Black Sea Biotechnology Association), 2004-2014
Belgian Representative in the Biosciences Steering Panel of EASAC (The European Academies
Scientific Advisory Council), 2010-1014
Member, Advisory Board (EGLS) of EU Commissioner Ph. Busquin, DG - Science and Technology,
European Commission, 2000-2004
Belgium Delegate at the International Council of Science (ICSU) (Paris), 1989-1996
Chair of Cobiotech/ACOGEB, ICSU Bodies for Biotech Research, 1993-1996
Selection Committee Member King Baudouin International Development Prize, 1990-1998; L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science (Paris, France), 1998-2015; Balzan Prizes, International Balzan Foundation (Milan, Italy), 2004-2016