Paul van der Wielen appointed associate professor of Microbial Ecology of Water Systems

Other applications of his research include stimulating the growth of micro-organisms that convert unwanted chemicals in water systems and identifying indicators that warn that water quality is inadequate – and the causes. His research also focuses on microbiome-based therapies, in which administering beneficial micro-organisms to water systems, or stimulating their growth, result in the better removal of undesirable substances, and using competitive mechanisms to stop the growth of undesirable micro-organisms such as Legionella.

About Paul van der Wielen

Professor Paul van der Wielen (1970, Nistelrode) started his academic career at the University of Groningen, where he obtained his master’s degree in biology with a specialisation in microbial ecology in 1996. He then moved to Utrecht University to work on his doctorate, investigating how the naturally occurring micro-organisms in the appendix of broilers can prevent the colonisation of Salmonella. In 2002, he was awarded his Ph.D. for his thesis “Role of volatile fatty acids in competitive exclusion of Salmonella enteritidis.”

Professor van der Wielen then spent three years as a postdoctorate researcher at the University of Groningen, where he worked on research into microbial communities in deep-sea salt lakes in the Mediterranean, during which it was discovered that microbial life is possible even at very high concentrations of magnesium chloride. Since 2004, he has worked at KWR Water Research Institute, the research institute of the Dutch drinking water utilities. Here, he investigates the growth of Legionella in water systems, the biological stability of our drinking water and the use of micro-organisms to treat water. With microbiology researchers from other universities, Professor van der Wielen was a member of the core team that won the Holomicrobiome Project (200 million euros) from the National Growth Fund in 2024/2025. He is also working on many other projects, which can be read about on his web page.