Hugo Van Heuverswyn is a Belgian

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...

 molecular biologist, biotech pioneer, entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 and businessman. He has been the chairman of the VIB, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, since its inception in 1995.

Education

He obtained a chemistry degree at University of Ghent in 1971, and he obtained a Ph.D. at the Department of Molecular Biology, under Prof. Walter Fiers

Walter Fiers

Walter Fiers is a Belgian molecular biologist.He obtained a degree of Engineer for Chemistry and Agricultural Industries at the University of Ghent in 1954, and started his research career as an enzymologist in the laboratory of Laurent Vandendriessche in Ghent. In 1956-57, he worked with Heinz...

, where together with his colleagues, he determined for the first time the structure and regulatory mechanisms of a comlete viral DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 genome

Genome

In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....

: the virus SV40

SV40

SV40 is an abbreviation for Simian vacuolating virus 40 or Simian virus 40, a polyomavirus that is found in both monkeys and humans...

.

Career

In 1979 he created, together with Dr. Carlos Morel, the first molecular biology

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...

 laboratory in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

. After his return to Belgium in 1981, he continued to apply recombinant DNA research in the field of immunology

Immunology

Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...

 at the university of Ghent.

In 1982 he founded the biotech company Biogent and managed it during the first years of its existence, after which he founded Innogenetics

Innogenetics

Innogenetics NV is an international in vitro diagnostics company, with headquarters in Ghent, Belgium. The company develops and markets diagnostic assays in the fields of infectious diseases, oncology, neurodegeneration, transplantation and genetic testing, with a special focus on molecular...

 NV in 1985 together with Erik Tambuyzer

Erik Tambuyzer

Erik Tambuyzer is a Belgian bio-engineer and businessman. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Flemish Center for Medical Innovation .-Education:...

 and Rudy Marien, who became the major private investor. In 2001 he founded BioMaric, a Belgian biotech start-up, together with Dr. Maan Zrein and Eric Saman, and in 2002 he founded Biotech Incubation Partners. In 2003 he initiated together with Rudy Dekeyser

Rudy Dekeyser

Rudy Dekeyser is the Managing Director of VIB and heads the technology transfer team of the institute. He obtained a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Ghent....

 the creation of FlandersBio

FlandersBio

FlandersBio is a non-profit organization which represents the cluster of Flemish life sciences in Belgium. The members of FlandersBio are organizations involved with Research and Development, and production in life sciences, or organizations and companies servicing Flemish life sciences...

, the association of biotechnology companies in Flanders.

Sources

• J. Comijn, P. Raeymaekers, A. Van Gysel, M. Veugelers, Today = Tomorrow : a tribute to life sciences research and innovation : 10 years of VIB, Snoeck, 2006, ISBN 978-90-5349-630-5
• Hugo Van Heuverswyn
• VIB Board
• Biomaric