Biosketch

Joost Holthuis studied biology at Utrecht University (NL) and at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester (USA). In 1996 he graduated with honors on the mechanism of neuroendocrine secretion at the Radboud University Nijmegen. Following postdoctoral studies on syntaxins with Hugh Pelham at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge (UK), he returned to the NL to start his own group at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. In 2001 his group moved to the Bijvoet Center and Institute of Biomembranes at Utrecht University, where he worked as associate professor and organized the first Bijvoet Summer School “Exploring Nature’s Molecular Machines”.

In 2012 he was appointed as professor of Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Osnabrück (DE). Research in his group focuses on membrane lipid metabolism, transport and homeostasis; the underlying protein machinery of lipid converters, sensors and flippases; and how this machinery participates in key cellular and pathological processes. He has been a Marie Curie Fellow (1997-1998), Royal Academy Fellow (1998-2002), NWO-CW VIDI grant holder (2003-2007) and High Potential of Utrecht University (2004-2009). He is the scientific coordinator of Sphingonet, a Marie Curie-funded Research & Training Network focusing on the mechanisms of sphingolipid homeostasis using chemical and systems biology approaches (2012-2016).

Selected Publications

  • In vivo profiling and visualization of cellular protein-lipid interactions using bifunctional fatty acids. Haberkant P, Raijmakers R, Wildwater M, Sachsenheimer T, Brugger B, Maeda K, Houweling M, Gavin AC, Schultz C, van Meer G, Heck H, Holthuis JC (2013) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 52, 4033-4038
  • Mapping functional interactions in a heterodimeric phospholipid pump. Puts CF, Panatala R, Hennrich H, Tsareva A, Williamson P, Holthuis JC (2012) J. Biol. Chem. 287, 30529-30540
  • In vivo cross-linking of a P4-ATPase protein interaction network reveals a link between aminophospholipid transport and phosphoinositide metabolism. Puts CF, Lenoir G, Krijgsveld J, Williamson P, Holthuis JC (2010) J. Proteome Res. 9, 833-842
  • Sphingomyelin synthase-related protein SMSr controls ceramide homeostasis in the ER. Vacaru AM, Tafesse FG, Ternes P, Kondylis V, Hermansson M, Brouwers JF, Somerharju P, Rabouille C, Holthuis JC (2009) J. Cell Biol. 185, 1013-1027
  • ŸOn the origin of lipid asymmetry: the flip side of ion transport. Lenoir G, Williamson P, Holthuis JC (2007) Curr. Op. Chem. Biol. 11, 654-661
  • Lipid traffic: floppy drives and a superhighway. Holthuis JC, T Levine (2005) Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 6:209-220
  • Identification of a family of animal sphingomyelin synthases. Huitema K, Van Den Dikkenberg J, Brouwers JF, Holthuis JC (2004) EMBO J. 23, 33-44
  • ŸDrs2p-related P-type ATPases Dnf1p and Dnf2p are required for phospholipid translocation across the yeast plasma membrane and serve a role in endocytosis. Pomorski T, Lombardi R, Riezman H, Devaux PF, van Meer G, Holthuis JC (2003) Mol. Biol. Cell 14, 1240-1254
  • The organizing potential of sphingolipids in intracellular membrane transport. Holthuis JC, Pomorski T, Raggers R, Spong H, van Meer G (2001) Phys. Rev. 81, 1689-1723

PhD theses

For an overview of PhD theses completed in the Holthuis lab, click [here].

How do I survive …

For some personal advice on the subject “How do I survive my PhD students? ” click [here].