KNVM

The KNVM board makes the Albert Kluyver award available to microbiologists (in any field, but currently employed at a Dutch university or research institute and a current member of the KNVM) with an outstanding contribution to microbiology within eight years after obtaining their PhD (the NWO extension rules apply). This contribution may be a combination of scientific, educational, and/or (public) outreach achievements. The prize - awarded during the KNVM/NVMM Scientific Spring Meeting - has on average been awarded once every three years between 1963 and 2010, sponsored by DSM. As of 2024, the award will be on behalf of the KNVM and will be awarded once every year. The awardee will be asked to give a short presentation on their work at the KNVM/NVMM Scientific Spring Meeting. 

To nominate a candidate, please send a letter of support explaining why the candidate should be considered for this award and a CV or resumé of the candidate to secretariaat@knvm.org, before January 15.

The prize, which was first awarded in 1963, is in commemoration of Albert-Jan Kluyver. He was professor in General and Applied Microbiology at the Delft University of Technology from 1921 to 1956. He stated that taxonomy of microorganisms should be based on morphology and metabolism. Moreover, he launched the concept of unity in biochemistry.

Awardees

• 2024 Nico Claassens
  Wageningen University & Research (Wageningen)
  
  
• 2010 Ronald van Rij
  "The antiviral role of RNAi in insects"
  Universitair Medisch Centrum St Radboud (Nijmegen)
  
  
• 2007 Thijs Ettema
  "Functional and comparative genomics on the Archaea"
  Wageningen Universiteit & Research (Wageningen)
  
  
• 2004 Martin van der Laan
  "The YidC pathway mediates membrane protein insertion in Escherichia coli"
  Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (Groningen)
  
  
• 1999 Quido Valent
  "Role of the bacterial SRP in targeting precursor proteins to the precursor protein translocase complex"
  Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam)
  
  
• 1996 Hendrik van Veen
  "Mechanisms and energetics of phosphate transport in Acinetobacter johnsonii and Escherichia coli"
  Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (Groningen)
  
  
• 1993 Herman Spaink
  "The molecular basis of the host specificity of Rhizobium bacteria"
  Universiteit Leiden (Leiden)
  
  
• 1990 Marja Agterberg
  "Outer membrane protein PhoE as a carrier for the exposure of foreign antigenic determinants at the bacterial cell surface"
  Universiteit Utrecht (Utrecht)
  
  
• 1988 Arnold Driessen
  "Secondary transport of amino acids by membrane vesicles derived from lactic acid bacteria"
  Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (Groningen)
  
  
• 1986 Peter Bruinenberg
  "The NADP(H) redox couple in yeast metabolism"
  Technische Hogeschool (Delft)
  
  
• 1984 Jan Keltjens
  "Coenzymes of methanogenesis"
  Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen (Nijmegen)
  
  
• 1978 Jozef Anné
  "Somatic hybridisation between Penicillium species after induced fusion of their protoplasts"
  Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Leuven, Belgium)
  
  
• 1976 Jan van Embden & W. van Leeuwen
  "Interference with propagation of typing of bacteriophages by extrachromosomal elements in Salmonella typhimurium: bacteriophage type 505"
  Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (Bilthoven)
  
  
• 1974 Jean Swings
  "Taxonomie van het bacteriëngeslacht Zymomonas"
  Universiteit van Gent (Gent, Belgium)
  
  
• 1969 Hans Sietsma
  "Protoplastvorming en celwandsamenstelling van enige Oömyces soorten"
  Universiteit van Amsterdam (Amsterdam)
  
  
• 1965 Wouter Middelhoven
  "Over de stofwisseling van arginine in bakkersgist"
  Landbouw Universiteit (Wageningen)
  
  
• 1963 Godfried Vogels
  "De afbraak van allantoine door micro-organismen"
  Technische Hogeschool (Delft)