BaseClear has appointed Alex Van Belkum as Chief Scientific Officer. He is a molecular microbiologist with extensive experience in molecular- and culture-based diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance testing and clinical microbiology. He will lead BaseClear’s science and innovation arm together with Innovation Manager Walter Pirovano and a team of PhD-level Product Managers.
Official comment
“We are extremely pleased to announce that Alex van Belkum is joining the BaseClear team. He brings significant microbiological and innovation experience that will further enhance our ability to offer clients and partners state-of-the-art microbial genomics solutions,” aid Bas Reichert, BaseClear CEO. “His experience and expertise will be invaluable for our further growth in areas such as human health, personal care and animal nutrition.”
Van Belkum said: “The combination of Next Generation Sequencing technologies, culturomics and microbiome research has huge potential for the future. There are great opportunities for BaseClear to develop new and innovative solutions in areas such as human health, animal health and biomarker discovery. I’ll be working together with a strong team of experienced and highly talented scientists within Innovation and Product Management and look forward to the dynamic environment that BaseClear offers.”
Professional experience
Van Belkum has many years of working experience in both industry and academia. He has worked for bioMérieux for over a decade, where he has held a number of scientific leadership roles including R&D director, Corporate Vice President Microbiology, CSO, and Scientific Director of the Data Analytics department.
Prior to his work at bioMérieux, he was a staff member of the Institute of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam. He holds a double PhD in both biochemistry and molecular microbiology and is a former Professor of Molecular Microbiology at the Erasmus University Medical Center.
