André Boonstra studied Biology at the University of Groningen, and did his PhD studies at the department of Immunology of the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam until. He worked the DNAX Research Institute (Palo Alto, USA) as a post-doctoral fellow to study the function of myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells and their effect on Th cell development. He continued his post-doctoral studies at the National Institute for Medical Research Mill Hill (London, UK) on a project focused on immunology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. Since September 2006 he is group leader and staff member at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the Erasmus MC (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), and was appointed associate professor in 2012.
As an immunologist on infectious diseases his research is focused on 1) identification of the host factors that determine viral persistence and disease progression, and 2) identification of the factors that determine the outcome of current and novel antiviral treatment strategies. His group currently consists of 3 technicians, 2 post-docs, 3 PhD students and several visiting scientists and undergraduates. The work his research group has extensive expertise on small-animal models, genomics/bio-informatics, and immunology of infectious diseases that are complimentary for the translational studies to understand and predict disease progression and efficacy of antiviral therapy in patients with HBV, HCV and HEV infections.
He contributed to the scientific community by publishing many research papers and several book chapters, and has been member of advisory boards and NIH committees. He received research grants from various pharmaceutical companies, the Dutch government, and from NWO-ZonMW. The research is performed in close collaboration with clinics of the hepatology, infectious diseases and virology units of the Erasmus MC.
Awards
2020-Distinguished Hepatology Award of the Dutch Organization for Hepatology (NVH)
This prize is awarded once every 3 years to a senior Dutch scientist on the basis of track record and future perspective.