R. Frank Kooy - Biography#

After graduating at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, I obtained a Ph.D. in Molecular Parasitology in 1991 at the same University. I became involved in human genetics during a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Groningen, also in the Netherlands. From there I moved to the University of Antwerp, Belgium in 1995. Over the years, my postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Medical Genetics evolved into a full professorship and I became the chair of Cognitive Genetics, an independent research group embedded within the department. The group is now part of the UA research excellence center GENOMED. The mission of the research group is to identify genetic causes of cognitive disorders and to study the defective genes with the ultimate goal to develop rational therapy. Our main achievement is that we, as a group, have been able to contribute to the understanding of the complex genetic mechanisms underlying intellectual disability and autism. We have developed and used novel methodologies to contribute to the discovery and delineation of new syndromes. Moreover, our functional studies of the fragile X syndrome have resulted in the initiation of clinical trials in patients.

Promotor of the Antwerp University center of excellence GENOMED since 2015. In 2020 we were renewed and awarded with a Methusalem grant, the largest Flemisch grant for top researchers. Promotor of the Antwerp University Expertise Technology Consortium (IOF) PreMet since 2021. Founder member of the Belgian Society for Human Genetics in 2000. Treasures of this society from 2001 - 2005. Co-organizer of 1-6th and 14th meeting of the Belgian Society for Human Genetics. Co-organiser of the 7-16th International Meeting on Copy Number Variation and Genes in Intellectual Disability and Autism. Organiser of a first meeting on ADNP and related disorders for researchers and patient in 2022 in Antwerp. Invited to 3-4 international meetings annually, including at the Banbury center (Cold Spring Harbor), at Gordon conferences and at opening symposia of respected translational centers. Faculty member of the F1000 Biology. Advisory board member for the National Fragile X Foundation (USA), the Association X-fragile (Belgium) and the ADNP kids foundation (USA). Editorial board member of Autism Research. Editor of authoritative book on the fragile X syndrome in 2017. Coordinator of the ERA-NET Neuron network “AUTISYN” (2016 - 2018), its sequel “ADNPinMED” (2019 - 2022) of the FWO-scientific research community “The translational fragile X network” (2016 - 2020). Member of the E-rare network “IMPACT” (2019 - 2022). Reviewer for essentially al genetic journals (including the American Journal of Human Genetics, PLoS Genetics and Nature Genetics) and many neuroscience journals (including Nature Neuroscience), as well as a subset of interdisciplinary journals (including Science and the PNAS). Member of 3 grant review committees, including the UA-BOF (University of Antwerp special research fund, panel chair since 2021), the ANR (Agence nationale de la recherché, France) and an ERC advanced grant panel. Ad-hoc consultant for several drug development companies.