Editorial

Network-based pharmacology through systems biology

Hans V. Westerhoff, Ph.D., is a cart carrying systems biologist, contributing to the discovery of systems biology principles in all three Kingdoms of microbial Life, as well as in mammals. Differential network-based drug targeting, systems pharmacology, systems immunology, cortisol-mediated mood changes and genome wide metabolic networks for individualized medicine and precision biotechnology, are amongst his recent research interests. Westerhoff received his PhD with maximum laudation from the University of Amsterdam with Karel van Dam as promotor. Since then he has been active at the University of Padova, the National Institutes of Health (USA), the Netherlands Cancer Institute and the University of Stellenbosch until taking up positions directing systems biology research and training across the North Sea: he is Professor of Synthetic Systems Biology at the University of Amsterdam, Professor of Microbial Physiology at the VU University, and Professor of Systems Biology at the University of Manchester. Co-author of >600 publications, cited >15k times (H = 68), he is an ex-NWO Pioneer and C&C Huygens fellow, recipient of the golden KNCV medal, member of the Italian Academy of Sciences, and Fellow of the International Society for Systems Biology.