ProfessorPaul Michels

Positions:
Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Structural and Molecular Biology, The University of Edinburgh
Invited Professor, Departamento de Biología, Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela

Qualifications:
BSc, Biology, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1968
MSc, Biology (animal physiology, biochemistry, molecular cytology), University of Amsterdam, cum laude, 1974
PhD, Science (biochemistry, microbiology), University of Groningen, the Netherlands, 1978

Academic career:
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Dundee, UK (1979-1980)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Amsterdam/the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the Netherlands (1980-1983)
Assistant Staff Member of the ‘de Duve Institute’ (previously called ‘International Institute of Cellular and Molecular Pathology’) (1983 – 1986)
Associate Staff Member of the ‘de Duve Institute’ (1986 – 1988)
Staff Member of the ‘de Duve Institute’ (1988 – 2011)
Invited Professor ("Chargé de cours invité"), Département de biochimie et biologie cellulaire, Université catholique de Louvain (1996 – 1998)
Professor ("Chargé de cours à temps partiel"), Département de biochimie et biologie cellulaire, Université catholique de Louvain (1998 – 2007)
Professor ("Professeur à temps partiel"), Département de biochimie et biologie cellulaire, Université catholique de Louvain (2007 - 2011)
Emeritus Professor, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium (2011 – present)
Invited Professor, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium (2011 – 2012)
Visiting Professor, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, UK (2007 – 2013)
Invited Professor, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes’, Mérida, Venezuela (2012 – present)
Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Structural and Molecular Biology, The University of Edinburgh, UK (2013 – present)

Funding:
During my period in the Duve Institute/at the Université catholique de Louvain, I have assured funds for the research of our ‘Research Unit for Tropical Diseases’, during a period of 25 years, from national and international organizations. Moreover, during more than 10 years, I have been the coordinator of international consortia for research on drug discovery for tropical parasitic diseases, supported by grants of the European Commission.
At the University of Edinburgh, I have been co-applicant, with Prof. M. Walkinshaw, in a successful recent application for a Wellcome Trust Seeding Drug Discovery grant of £ 2.5M for the development of leads for anti-trypanosome drugs based on glycolytic enzyme inhibitors.

Honours:
Since 1992 I have been a member of the editorial boards of a variety of journals in biochemistry/molecular biology/parasitology; since 1990, a member of scientific review committees for Belgian and international organizations for providing financial support for research, fellowships and workshops; since 2002, a member (and chairman) of several national and international peer review committees for undergraduate and graduate curricula and for research in biological sciences at different (consortia of) universities in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. I have been a mail/ad hoc reviewer of research proposals, on behalf of various national and international research funding organizations.
Since 1982, I have been Invited speaker at many national and international scientific meetings, and at laboratories abroad, and an invited chairman at several international meetings.

Postgraduate teaching experience:
I have been supervisor of 15 graduate and about 15 postdoctoral fellows at the "Université catholique de Louvain", from 1984 – 2012, and I act currently as co-supervisor of graduate students at the University of Edinburgh (UK) and the “Universidad de los Andes” (Venezuela).
Currently, I am organizer and lecturer (together with Prof. W.G.J. Hol, University of Washington, Seattle, USA) of postgraduate Workshops on ‘Drug Discovery on Neglected Tropical Infectious Diseases’ in institutions in developing countries: (1) November 2012, Mérida, Venezuela; (2) January 2013, New Delhi, India; (3) May 2013, Pathum Tani, Thailand; (4) October 2013, São Carlos, Brazil; (5) March 2014, Pune, India. (6) November 2014, Montevideo, Uruguay; (7) February 2015, Chennai, India; (8) November 2015, São Carlos, Brazil; (9) February 2016, Hyderabad, India.
I have been external examiner of PhD students at various universities in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Czech Republic and Australia.

Publications:
I am author of over 240 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international periodicals, and of several review papers prepared on invitation. H-index: 46.
I have been ranked 21st in the citation index 2007-2013 for European researchers in parasitology (‘Lab Times’ May 2015).

(updated September 2016)