Ronaldus (Ron) Adrianus Maria Fouchier (born 13 October 1966) is a Dutch virologist who is Deputy head of the Erasmus MC Department of Viroscience, headed by Marion Koopmans.
Ronaldus (Ron) Adrianus Maria Fouchier (born 13 October 1966) is a Dutch virologist who is Deputy head of the Erasmus MC Department of Viroscience, headed by Marion Koopmans.
Fouchier is notable for his research on respiratory viruses of humans and animals, antigenic drift, and influenza virus zoonoses, transmission and pandemics. His team contributed substantially to the identification and characterization of various “new” viruses, such as human metapneumovirus, human coronavirus NL63, SARS coronavirus, MERS coronavirus, and influenza A virus subtype H16.[ citation needed ]
In 2006 he received the Heine-Medin award of the European Society for Clinical Virology and in 2013 the Huibregtsen award for top innovative science with societal impact. [1] [2] Fouchier was elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in 2016. [3] He is also member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW). He was elected member of the Academia Europaea in 2018. [4] He is a member of the CEIRR Center coordinated at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and received the M.W. Beijerinck Virology Prize, awarded by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), in 2023. Fouchier is a web-of-science Highly Cited author.
Human metapneumovirus: A newly discovered human pneumovirus isolated from young children with respiratory tract disease van den Hoogen BG, de Jong JC, Groen J, Kuiken T, de Groot R, Fouchier RA, Osterhaus AD. Nat Med. 2001 Jun;7(6):719-24. doi: 10.1038/89098. PMID 11385510
Human coronavirus NL63: A previously undescribed coronavirus associated with respiratory disease in humans Fouchier RA, Hartwig NG, Bestebroer TM, Niemeyer B, de Jong JC, Simon JH, Osterhaus AD. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Apr 20;101(16):6212-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0400762101. Epub 2004 Apr 8. PMID 15073334
SARS coronavirus: Aetiology: Koch's postulates fulfilled for SARS virus Fouchier RA, Kuiken T, Schutten M, van Amerongen G, van Doornum GJ, van den Hoogen BG, Peiris M, Lim W, Stöhr K, Osterhaus AD. Nature. 2003 May 15;423(6937):240. doi: 10.1038/423240a. PMID 12748632
MERS coronavirus: Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia Zaki AM, van Boheemen S, Bestebroer TM, Osterhaus AD, Fouchier RA. N Engl J Med. 2012 Nov 8;367(19):1814-20. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1211721. Epub 2012 Oct 17. PMID 23075143
Influenza virus H16: Characterization of a novel influenza A virus hemagglutinin subtype (H16) obtained from black-headed gulls Fouchier RA, Munster V, Wallensten A, Bestebroer TM, Herfst S, Smith D, Rimmelzwaan GF, Olsen B, Osterhaus AD. J Virol. 2005 Mar;79(5):2814-22. doi: 10.1128/JVI.79.5.2814-2822.2005. PMID 15709000
Human metapneumovirus is a negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family Pneumoviridae and is closely related to the Avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) subgroup C. It was isolated for the first time in 2001 in the Netherlands by using the RAP-PCR technique for identification of unknown viruses growing in cultured cells. As of 2016, it was the second most common cause of acute respiratory tract illness in otherwise-healthy children under the age of 5 in a large US outpatient clinic.
Influenza hemagglutinin (HA) or haemagglutinin[p] is a homotrimeric glycoprotein found on the surface of influenza viruses and is integral to its infectivity.
Orthomyxoviridae is a family of negative-sense RNA viruses. It includes seven genera: Alphainfluenzavirus, Betainfluenzavirus, Gammainfluenzavirus, Deltainfluenzavirus, Isavirus, Thogotovirus, and Quaranjavirus. The first four genera contain viruses that cause influenza in birds and mammals, including humans. Isaviruses infect salmon; the thogotoviruses are arboviruses, infecting vertebrates and invertebrates. The Quaranjaviruses are also arboviruses, infecting vertebrates (birds) and invertebrates (arthropods).
Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infectious diseases involving the lower or upper respiratory tract. An infection of this type usually is further classified as an upper respiratory tract infection or a lower respiratory tract infection. Lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, tend to be far more severe than upper respiratory infections, such as the common cold.
Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) is a species of coronavirus, specifically a Setracovirus from among the Alphacoronavirus genus. It was identified in late 2004 in patients in the Netherlands by Lia van der Hoek and Krzysztof Pyrc using a novel virus discovery method VIDISCA. Later on the discovery was confirmed by the researchers from Rotterdam. The virus is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which enters its host cell by binding to ACE2. Infection with the virus has been confirmed worldwide, and has an association with many common symptoms and diseases. Associated diseases include mild to moderate upper respiratory tract infections, severe lower respiratory tract infection, croup and bronchiolitis.
Influenza A virus subtype H10N7 (A/H10N7) is a subtype of the species Influenza A virus. H10N7 was first reported in humans in Egypt in 2004. It caused illness in two one-year-old infants, and residents of Ismailia, Egypt; one child's father, and a poultry merchant.
Albertus Dominicus Marcellinus Erasmus "Ab" Osterhaus is a leading Dutch virologist and influenza expert. An Emeritus Professor of Virology at Erasmus University Rotterdam since 1993, Osterhaus is known throughout the world for his work on SARS and H5N1, the pathogen that causes avian influenza.
Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), or EMC/2012 (HCoV-EMC/2012), is the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). It is a species of coronavirus which infects humans, bats, and camels. The infecting virus is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which enters its host cell by binding to the DPP4 receptor. The species is a member of the genus Betacoronavirus and subgenus Merbecovirus.
Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold, cross-species transmission has produced some unusually virulent strains which can cause viral pneumonia and in serious cases even acute respiratory distress syndrome and death.
Pipistrellus bat coronavirus HKU5 is an enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA mammalian Group 2 Betacoronavirus discovered in Japanese Pipistrellus in Hong Kong. This strain of coronavirus is closely related to the newly identified novel MERS-CoV that is responsible for the 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus outbreaks in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
Human coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1) is a species of coronavirus in humans and animals. It causes an upper respiratory disease with symptoms of the common cold, but can advance to pneumonia and bronchiolitis. It was first discovered in January 2004 from one man in Hong Kong. Subsequent research revealed it has global distribution and earlier genesis.
Human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) is a species of coronavirus which infects humans and bats. It is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which enters its host cell by binding to the APN receptor. Along with Human coronavirus OC43, it is one of the viruses responsible for the common cold. HCoV-229E is a member of the genus Alphacoronavirus and subgenus Duvinacovirus.
Tylonycteris bat coronavirus HKU4 is an enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus mammalian Group 2 Betacoronavirus that has been found to be genetically related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that is responsible for the 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
MERS coronavirus EMC/2012 is a strain of coronavirus isolated from the sputum of the first person to become infected with what was later named Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
Maria Caterina Zambon FMedSci FRCPath, is a British virologist, director of reference microbiology for Public Health England and a professor. Her main research areas include influenza vaccination and influenza hemagglutination inhibition.
Maria Petronella Gerarda Koopmans is a Dutch virologist who is Head of the Erasmus MC Department of Viroscience. Her research considers emerging infectious diseases, noroviruses and veterinary medicine. In 2018 she was awarded the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Stevin Prize. She serves on the scientific advisory group of the World Health Organization.
Isabella Eckerle is a German virologist who is the co-Head of the Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases at the Geneva University Hospitals and the University of Geneva. Her research considers infectious diseases and the development of cell lines that allow a better understanding of their epidemiology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Eckerle studied the difference in response of adults and children to coronavirus disease.
Gain-of-function research is medical research that genetically alters an organism in a way that may enhance the biological functions of gene products. This may include an altered pathogenesis, transmissibility, or host range, i.e., the types of hosts that a microorganism can infect. This research is intended to reveal targets to better predict emerging infectious diseases and to develop vaccines and therapeutics. For example, influenza B can infect only humans and harbor seals. Introducing a mutation that would allow influenza B to infect rabbits in a controlled laboratory situation would be considered a gain-of-function experiment, as the virus did not previously have that function. That type of experiment could then help reveal which parts of the virus's genome correspond to the species that it can infect, enabling the creation of antiviral medicines which block this function.
ORF3a is a gene found in coronaviruses of the subgenus Sarbecovirus, including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. It encodes an accessory protein about 275 amino acid residues long, which is thought to function as a viroporin. It is the largest accessory protein and was the first of the SARS-CoV accessory proteins to be described.
Ali Mohamed Zaki is an Egyptian physician and virologist known for first discovering the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus while working at the Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He isolated the virus from the lungs of a patient admitted to the hospital with severe viral pneumonia of unknown aetiology. Soon after Zaki posted an alert on proMED, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health pressured the hospital to sever his contract, and he returned to Egypt under fear of reprisal. The sequence was then characterised and named by Ron Fouchier and his team Erasmus MC as MERS.
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