NFI scientist appointed Professor by Special Appointment in Forensic Biology
The Board of Governors of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) has appointed Dr A.D. (Ate) Kloosterman Professor by Special Appointment in Forensic Biology in the Faculty of Science.
Kloosterman will combine this professorship with his work as a senior forensic scientist at the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) in The Hague.
Impetus to DNA analysis
The establishment of the new chair in Forensic Biology under the direction of Professor Kloosterman will give an important impetus to the further development of forensic DNA analysis. "The NFI is delighted with Kloosterman’s appointment," said Managing Director Tjin-A-Tsoi. "Kloosterman was at the forefront of forensic DNA analysis in the Netherlands and has many years of experience as a permanent court-appointed expert for the NFI. His knowledge and experience will be invaluable in the further development of forensic DNA analysis in the Netherlands."
Collaboration between university and NFI
The international Forensic Science study programme was launched at the UvA in 2005. Forensic DNA analysis is an important spearhead in everyday practice in forensic case analysis at the NFI and in the forensic science curriculum of the UvA. The fact that Kloosterman will combine his professorship with his work at the NFI will give significant added value to study programme and the NFI.
Forensic Biology
The chair in Forensic Biology will be embedded in the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) of the UvA. This multidisciplinary research institute has extensive research experience in a number of fields including non-human DNA. The collaboration with the IBED will give a tremendous boost to the NFI’s desire to further develop the scientific analysis of non-human biological traces. There is also an ambition to further expand the possibilities of forensic analysis of human biological traces.
Curriculum Vitae
Ate Kloosterman was born in 1951 and studied Biochemistry at Utrecht University. He began his forensic career in 1979 at the Forensic Laboratory (which later became the NFI) where he operated at the interface between science and practical application. Kloosterman was at the forefront of forensic DNA analysis in the Netherlands and has many years of experience as a permanent court-appointed expert for the NFI. In 2002, some of his scientific work was collected in a thesis entitled “The development and implementation of forensic DNA typing technologies in the Netherlands.” He received a doctorate with distinction for this thesis from the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Kloosterman has extensive teaching experience. He lectures at the UvA and the HvA and provides training to various people involved in the criminal justice system, such as employees of the Public Prosecution Service, the administrative courts, the police and the legal profession.
Netherlands Forensic Institute
The NFI uses state-of-the-art technology and science to provide high-quality forensic services on behalf of its clients. The NFI provides objective forensic information and works on the basis of specific examination assignments submitted by its clients. The NFI is independent and does not adopt any positions with regard to guilt or innocence.