I subsequently started a new group to study the molecular biology of respiratory viruses, in particular influenza A virus, at the Viroscience Department of Erasmus MC Rotterdam. As a fellow of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, I studied influenza virus zoonoses and pathogenicity. Achievements of my team include the identification and characterization of several "new" viruses; the human metapneumovirus (hMPV), human coronavirus NL63, the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and a new influenza A virus subtype (H16). I am alumni member of the "Young Academy" of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, elected member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, recipient of the 2006 Heine-Medin award of the European Society for Clinical Virology and the 2013 Huibregtsen prize for top innovative science with societal impact. I co-authored more than 350 publications that have been cited ~30,000 times. I am an editor for several infectious disease journals, and member of advisory committees for Dutch government and (international) scientific organisations and conferences. My group is part of an NIH/NIAID Center of Excellence for Influenza Research, and participates in several WHO working groups.