Ernest Feytmans
Encyclopedia
Prof. Ernest Feytmans is a biologist
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, director of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
The Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics is an academic not-for-profit foundation which federates bioinformatics activities throughout Switzerland...
between 2001 and September 2007.
Ernest Feytmans graduated in biology (in 1968) and statistics (in 1973) at the Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and obtained a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1973 following a thesis in Cell Biology with Jacques Berthet and Christian de Duve. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
with Christian de Duve, he became professor at the Catholic University of Santiago
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two Pontifical Universities in the country, along with the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso. It is also one of Chile's oldest universities and...
, in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. In 1975, he became full professor at Namur University, Belgium, where he was head of the department of biology, and then Chancellor from 1982 to 1987 and Dean of the faculty of sciences between 1991 and 1997.
In 1997, he became Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
and, in 2001, director of the Swiss Institute for Bioinformatics. In 2007, he became honorary director of the institute.
In 1977, he was selected with four other Belgian candidates for European astronaut kit but was not selected to the detachment.