Evening lecture by Prof. Dr. A. Minnaard, organized by the Groningse Chemische Kring.

Organic chemistry in the fight against tuberculosis

Summary
Tuberculosis has a long history, including in the Netherlands, and remains the bacterial infectious disease that claims the most lives worldwide each year. There is no effective vaccine available, and diagnosis is not always straightforward. Effective medicines are available, but antibiotic resistance is a major problem.
Thirty years ago, it was discovered that lipids in the cell wall of the tuberculosis bacterium play a key role in infection and the bacterium’s survival in humans. The bacterium produces thousands of these lipids, often with complex structures, and new ones are discovered every year. Elucidating the structure of these lipids and studying their function presents an enormous challenge, but one that may also yield great rewards: improved diagnostics and a vaccine. Organic chemistry plays an essential role here, as only chemistry is capable of synthesising these lipids and thereby making them available for immunological research and diagnostics. To this end, it is necessary to develop new synthetic methods in order to obtain these complex molecules in the first place. In this lecture, I will demonstrate how collaboration between organic chemistry, microbiology and cell biology makes it possible to understand how this bacterium infects humans.

Background of Prof. Dr Adriaan J. Minnaard
After studying Molecular Sciences at Wageningen Agricultural University, I undertook my PhD research in Organic Chemistry at the same university under Prof. Aede de Groot. I then worked for two years at DSM Research in Geleen, before joining the University of Groningen (RuG) in 1999 as a lecturer in Chemistry. In 2006, I spent a year as a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology in Dortmund. Since then, I have been Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Groningen, at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry.

Invitees are very welcome.

Please let us know in advance if you plan to attend.
Send an email to gck@kncv.nl or kommer.brunt@planet.nl.