Remus Dame investigates the coupling of genome organization and genome activity and the factors that fine-tune these processes in bacteria and archaea. He studies the proteins involved in vitro as well as in vivo using state-of-the-art biochemical and biophysical approaches.

More information about Remus Dame

Curriculum Vitae

Personal information

Nationality:   Dutch
Date of birth:   10 September 1974

Education

2003     PhD, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, the Netherlands, 23 January 2003
Thesis title: “Architectural roles of H-NS and HU in DNA compaction and transcription regulation”
Advisors: Dr. N. Goosen and Prof. Dr. ir. P. van der Putte
1997     MSc in Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Current and previous research positions

2020 - now   Full Professor in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, The Netherlands
2015 – 2020  Associate Professor, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, The Netherlands
2009 – 2015   Assistant Professor, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, The Netherlands
2007   Visiting scientist, Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA (Prof. M. Wang)
2006   Visiting scientist, Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics, KITP, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2004   Visiting scientist, European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy, LENS, Florence, Italy (Prof. F. Pavone)
2003 - 2009   Post-doctoral researcher (Veni), Department of Physics and Astronomy, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Prof. G.J.L. Wuite)

Grants, awards, recognitions since 2010

2020  NWO ENW-Groot grant (programme leader) with 4 partners (k€ 3,000)
2016   NWO-ALW Vici grant (k€ 1,500)
2014   HFSP grant (programme leader) with 4 partners (k$ 1,300)
2013   FOM programme grant with Prof. Wuite (VU) (k€ 330)
2010   FES-HTSM NanoNextNL grant (k€ 257)

Contribution to teaching and supervision

Current: BSc Life Science and Technology (Leiden/Delft): Quantitative Molecular Biology. MSc Life Science and Technology at Leiden University: Cross-domain Chromatin Organisation. Guest lecturer: Dynamics of Biomolecules and Cells (VU University).

Previous: undergraduate courses Cell Signaling & Biophysics (2015-2018), Physics (2015-2017), Molecular Genetics 2 for Biopharmaceutical Sciences (2014-2015) and Molecular Biophysics (2010-2014). Guest lecturer in Global Regulatory Networks in Bacteria (2010-2012), Dynamics of Biomolecules and Cells (VU University, 2011-2018]), and Current Developments in Biophysics (VU University, 2009-2011). 

Supervision of 17 PhD students and 8 postdoctoral fellows (one FEBS fellow) since 2009. Current employment of recent PhD students and postdocs: K. Gavvala (Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, India); F. Crémazy ( Université Paris-Saclay); R.A. van der Valk (TU Delft); R.P.C. Driessen (TU Delft);  R. Shahapure (Cambridge University).

Other responsibilities since 2010

• Editorial board member for Frontiers in Microbiology, Microorganisms, BMC Molecular and Cell Biology, Editor of ‘Bacterial chromatin’, Methods in Molecular Biology, Dame Ed., Springer (2024), Editor of ‘Bacterial chromatin’, Methods in Molecular Biology, Dame Ed., Springer (2018), Editor of the book ‘Bacterial chromatin, Dame & Dorman Eds., Springer (2010).
• Secretary of the Netherlands Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2013-2016), Secretary of the ‘Nora Baart Stichting’ (2013-2016), Secretary of the ‘Stichting Stimulering Biochemie Nederland’ (2013-2016)
• Member of the NWO working groups Chemistry of Life, Physics of Life, and Life Sciences research communities 'Biology of Molecules, Cells and Tissues'.
• Comité van Aanbeveling S.V. LIFE (Student union Life Science & Technology, Leiden University)
• Member of the organising committee of the Dutch Chromatin Meeting (2022), Member of the organising committee of ‘The biology and physics of prokaryotic chromosome organization’, Leiden, NL (2023), Member of the organising committee of ‘The biology and physics of bacterial chromosome organization’, online (2021), Member of the organising committee of ‘The biology and physics of bacterial chromosome organization’, Leiden, NL (2018), Member of the organising committee of  the Dutch Chromatin Meeting (2016), Member of the organising committee of ‘The biology and physics of bacterial chromosome organization’ meeting in Paris (2016), Member of the organising committee of the 2nd International Workshop on “The Biology and Physics of Bacterial Genome Organisation” in Birmingham, UK (2014), Member of the organising committee of the Joint Dutch Chromatin Meeting and NVBMB Fall Symposium (2013), Chair of the organising committee of the Lorentz workshop ‘The biology and physics of bacterial genome organization’ (2012), Member of the organising committee of the bimonthly KNAW Biophysics meeting (2010-2014)
• Grant reviewer for the Agence Nationale pour la Recherche, BBSRC, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, FAPESP, Leverhulme Trust, National Science Centre, National Science Foundation , National University of Singapore, Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research, Royal Society of Chemistry, Science Foundation Ireland , UK India Education and Research Initiative, Wellcome Trust
• Reviewer for Nature, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Nature Microbiology, Nature Communications, Nature Reviews in Genetics, Nature Reviews in Microbiology, Science, Science Advances, PNAS, EMBO Journal, EMBO Reports, Nucleic Acids Research, PLOS Genetics and various other biochemistry, biophysics and microbiology journals
• Chair of Admission committee member of the MSc curriculum Molecular Science and Technology (Leiden/Delft)
• Chair of Examination Board Life Science & Technology
• External member for PhD committees across The Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom

Publication record

Ca. 85 papers with ~4000 citations, H-index 30 (Web of Science)
Full publication record: ResearcherID, or Leiden University

Presentations including five presentations at international conferences since 2010

50 invited presentations at universities, companies and institutes, and invited, keynote and plenary lectures at international conferences since 2010

• 2020 Telluride Workshop on Physical Genomics and Transcriptional Engineering. February 2020, Telluride, CO, USA
• Gordon Research Conference: “Archaea -  Unique Biology of the Archaea Bridging the Gap Between Bacteria and Eukaryotes”, July 2019, Les Diablerets, Switzerland
• 3rd International Workshop on “The Biology and Physics of Bacterial Genome Organisation”, September 2016, Paris, France
• Biophysical Society thematic meeting: “Significance of Knotted Structures for Function of Proteins and Nucleic Acids”, September 2014, Warszaw, Poland
• Gordon Conference Chromosome Dynamics, May 2013, Italy

Publications

Activities