dr. AP (Ad) Koets

Ad Koets graduated from Utrecht University Veterinary School in 1994 and worked for about one year as a veterinary practitioner. In 1995 he switched to Utrecht University Veterinary School, Department of Pathology for a short term research project on the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines during the early stages of bovine parturition in collaboration with the Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR) in Lelystad. Starting in 1996 he pursued a PhD in Veterinary Immunology at Utrecht University Veterinary School Immunology Department on the topic of T cell immunity and genetic resistance to bovine paratuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis. After obtaining his PhD in 2000 he further specialized in immunology, vaccinology and host genetic and environmental factor of infectious diseases in ruminants, pigs and poultry. He joined the University Veterinary School Farm Animal Health department in 2002 and was appointed associate professor of Infection Biology in 2009. Starting July 2014 he heads the National Reference Laboratory for Mycobacterial Infections and Tuberculosis at WBVR. From 2016 onwards he has initiated the Intracellular Bacterial Infections Section (IBIS) to focus research on host-pathogen interactions of zoonotic bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, and chlamydiosis.

Ad has expertise and particular interest in host-pathogen interactions involving intracellular bacteria with the aim of improving our ability to control these diseases through improving diagnostic tests, vaccine development, and understanding host genetic and environmental factors driving chronic endemic states. He strongly believes in the added value of multidisciplinary and transboundary One-Health approaches to answer complex research questions. These include but are not limited to genomic and proteomics approaches on host and pathogen level, and mathematical modelling of with-in and between host immune and disease dynamics.