Ben Giepmans

Ben Giepmans is intrigued by how biomolecules act together to control cell fate in health and disease. He is a cell biologist and molecular biochemist/ microscopist. His PhD research at The Netherlands Cancer Institute (2001) and related work in The Scripps Research Institute (CA, USA) have led to a better molecular understanding of gap junctions. In his

second post-doc he implemented several new advanced imaging techniques and probes to study protein dynamics in live cells and protein localization at high resolution. These studies have given unexpected new insights in Golgi apparatus reformation during mitosis (NCMIR, University of California, San Diego). Type 1 diabetes and innovative microscopy are the spearpoints of Giepmans’ research group at UMC Groningen where he also heads the advanced microscopy & imaging center (UMIC). The team develops and/or implements new imaging techniques with and without probes for large-scale and multimodal microscopy. Particular focus is on Islets of Langerhans to help to understand trigger(s) and potential new therapies for Type 1 diabetes.