Dr. S. van der Werf

  • Pr. van der Werf completed the following education: Agrégation (National Teaching Degree) in Physiology and Biochemistry, Doctorate in Microbiology with an option in Virology at the University of Paris, and a Doctorate in Natural Sciences specialising in Virology, also at the University of Paris.
  • Professionally Dr. van der Werf held several teaching and research positions. At the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Jeunes Filles she worked as a Student Professor and an Academic Assistant.  At the University of Paris she held several teaching positions in the Biochemistry Department: Academic Assistant, Master of Conferences and Professor: her current position.  At the Pasteur Institute in Paris she held several research positions: Deputy-Director of the Fundamental Virology Course, Deputy-Chairman of the Department of Virology, Director of the URA 1966 CNRS Molecular Virology Unit. Currently she is Head of the Molecular Genetics of Respiratory Viruses Unit. Currently she is also Director of the National Influenza Centre in Northern France and WHO’s Collaborating Center for Reference & Research on Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses.
  • Pr. van der Werf is a member of the following professional bodies and societies: American Society of Microbiology, Société Française de Microbiologie, Society for General Microbiology in addition to previously being an editorial Board Member for the Journal of General Virology, Microbes and Infection and Virologie.
  • Pr. van der Werf’s research interests previously in the field of picornaviruses on the molecular genetics of poliovirus and Mengo virus, and their use as vectors for vaccines and RNA immunisation, have been focused on respiratory viruses since 1996, particularly dealing with molecular epidemiology and molecular genetics aimed at the identification of determinants of species specificity of influenza viruses and the evaluation of vaccine strategies against SARS coronavirus.
  • She is the author of 70 original scientific papers and more than 30 other scientific publications.