Bert Poolman, PhD, studied biochemistry at the University of Bern, Switzerland and received his PhD degree in microbiology from the University of Groningen. In 1990 he became a research fellow of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science. From 1995-1999 he was associate professor of microbiology at the University of Groningen and since then has been professor of biochemistry. In 2014 he was named director of the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute.

The focus of Dr. Poolman’s research is the biochemistry and biophysics of biological membrane and membrane proteins. His seminal contributions are the understanding of the dynamics and permeability of biological membranes and vectorial biochemistry, i.e. the role of electrochemical gradients in the fueling and regulation of membrane transport. His group has pioneered several scientific and methodological advances in the field of membrane biology, including the expression and quality control of membrane proteins, which are critical for the in vivo analysis of membrane protein function and the in vitro reconstitution of cellular function.