The committee has assessed the nominations for the 2008 Gold Medal and unanimously submitted a proposal to the KNCV board. The board enthusiastically approved the proposal, and it was thus decided to award the 2008 KNCV Gold Medal to Professor Herman Overkleeft.
Professor Overkleeft, dear Hermen, there is an official statement that I will hand over to you, but I think it would be wiser to make it a little lighter and shorter here in this company.
The young Hermen Overkleeft began studying chemistry at the University of Amsterdam, where he first completed his major and later his doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Upendra Pandit, but also in collaboration with Prof. Gert-Jan Koomen. In his research, he focused on the synthesis of so-called azasugars and their biological applications. Interestingly, this line of research still plays an important role in his work and was recently even awarded the Pharmacochemistry Prize of the Pharmacochemistry Section of the KNCV to PhD student Tom Wennekes. This also characterizes Overkleeft's work: on the one hand, he is a first-class synthetic chemist, but on the other hand, he also knows how to make the compounds suitable for applications in medicine and biology. This combination also has a positive effect on the acquisition of grants, and as a result, research in this area was recently awarded an NWO TOP grant!
Inspired by the possibilities of organic chemistry in biology, after obtaining his PhD he became a postdoc in the research group of the late Prof. Jacques van Boom at Leiden University. A second postdoc followed, made possible by a prestigious NWO TALENT scholarship, to conduct research at Harvard Medical School in the group of Prof. Hidde Ploegh. In this biologically oriented group, the molecular challenges at the interface of chemistry and biology were there for the taking. Thanks to his knowledge and expertise in the field of synthesis, combined with his insight into molecular processes in living systems, he played a crucial role in achieving new and impressive results that were published in leading international scientific journals and also led to the start of a new line of research in Prof. Ploegh's group.
All in all, this led to his appointment in 2001 (at the age of 32!) as Prof. van Boom's successor at Leiden University. Since then, he has made his mark on Leiden's research and has made a name for himself in the field of chemical biology. This research has attracted numerous grants, including an NWO VICI grant (2003), and has resulted in around 150 articles and an H-index of 29 (very respectable for someone under 40).
Herman Overkleeft is active in the educational programs of the Leiden University courses Molecular Science & Technology, Life Science & Technology, Biopharmaceutical Sciences, and Chemistry, where he gives lectures that are highly appreciated by students. He is a strict guardian of academic standards and has an eye for incorporating new scientific developments into the educational programs.
He is also chair of the NWO study group ‘Design and Synthesis’. Another important role he has recently taken on is leading a completely new national initiative, the Dutch Compound Library (DCL). This is a consortium of synthesis groups in the Netherlands to set up a repository and screening facility for collections of new compounds that will be made available for screening against biological targets. If this facility is realized, it will be largely thanks to Prof. Overkleeft. Herman Overkleeft has a clear vision and does not shy away from confrontation. He was like that even when he was a student, and he still is today, although he has become somewhat more diplomatic. However, this does not detract from his scientific, organizational, and educational achievements and his enterprising attitude, nor from the promise he shows of maintaining a leading position in the scientific world. In short, he is a worthy winner of the 2008 KNCV Gold Medal.
