Koopmans studied veterinary medicine at Utrecht University. She graduated from her bachelor's degree 1976, and remained there for her doctoral research. She earned two graduate degrees in veterinary medicine, and was officially registered as a veterinary microbiologist in 1977. From 1991 to 1994 Koopmans completed a fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she studied enteric viruses. She joined the Virology Division, where she focussed on torovirus in cattle. She became increasingly interested in virology, and moved to the United States to specialise in viruses that can be transmitted between animals and humans.
Research and career
Koopmans joined the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, where she was appointed Chief of Virology. She was involved with restructuring the department, and translating their research out of the laboratory and into practical applications for the control of infectious diseases. In 2006 she was appointed as Professor of Public Health at the Erasmus MC hospital in Rotterdam, which allowed her to strengthen the evidence-base of infectious disease research. Her laboratory makes use of basic scientific studies and epidemiology to understand the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, to establish their transmission routes and to translate this research base into diagnostic tools. In 2003, when Influenza A virus subtype H7N7 spread around the Netherlands, Koopmans experienced her first infectious diseases outbreak. She was involved with the development of a coordinated public response, working with veterinarians and physicians to quickly develop public health policy. Her experiences in leading the response to the avian influenza outbreak prepared her for subsequent epidemics, including severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome and Zika virus. During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Koopmans was responsible for the deployment of mobile laboratories in Sierra Leone, which trained local volunteers to run testing and treatment programmes. Koopmans is a member of the scientific advisory group of the World Health Organization's R&D Blueprint project. The project looks to understand what has gone wrong with epidemic and pandemic responses, and looks to build global disease preparedness. As part of this effort, Koopmans analysed the public health response to the Zika virus. She identified three significant bottlenecks to an efficient response; including delays in regulatory approvals, challenges in the logistics of laboratory support and the absence of a structured timeline for funding. Koopmans also leads the World Health Organization centre for Emerging Viral Diseases. She is the scientific coordinator of COMPARE, a Horizon 2020 project that looks to develop next generation sequencing techniques for outbreak identification and mapping. COMPARE look to contain and mitigate foodborne illnesses. In 2018 Koopmans was honoured by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research for her work on the transfer of viruses from animals to humans. She was awarded a $9 million NWO grant to establish a consortium, the Versatile Emerging infectious disease Observatory, that will study how changes in environmental and travel will impact the risk of infectious diseases. The diseases considered by VEO include vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, as well as hidden pathogens. In 2019, Koopmans wrote an article for Nature in which she called for a transformation in epidemic preparedness and response. In the article, she quoted the World Health Organization's leader on health emergencies, “We are entering a very new phase of high-impact epidemics… This is a new normal,”. In 2019 Koopmans was elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. From the start of 2020, Koopmans worked to understand SARS-CoV-2 and the spread of coronavirus disease. In the Netherlands, Koopman made an effort to test healthcare workers, and identified that there were large numbers of asymptomatic carriers amongst the dutch population. With her team at the Erasmus MC, Koopmans looked to understand the efficacy of antibody tests. Alongside leading the scientific response, Koopmans was also involved with scientific communication about the virus, making use of social media and media interviews to share up-to-date research with the public. Koopmans said that as humans occupied more of planet earth, the number of dangerous animals transmitted from animals to humans would increase. She was appointed to the coronavirus disease advisory panel of the European Commission. The panel served to develop public health recommendations to the member states during the pandemic.
Awards and honours
2004 Nederlandse Vereniging voor Infectieziekten W.R.O. Goslingsprijs
