Theme Issue Honoring Professor Robert Verpoorte’s 75th Birthday: Past, Current and Future of Natural Products Research

Dear Colleagues,

In 2021, Prof. Robert Verpoorte, Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Biology of Leiden University, will have his 75th birthday. In recognition of his outstanding lifetime scientific contribution, we have arranged a Special Issue to which you are invited to submit a manuscript.

Prof. Dr. Verpoorte was born on 17 May, 1946 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He studied pharmacy in Leiden University during 1963–1967 and, from the same university, obtained a master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences in 1970 and then a PhD with a thesis on pharmacognostical studies of some African Strychnos species under the supervision of Prof. Dr. A. Baerheim Svendsen (Faculty of Pharmacy, Leiden University, the Netherlands) and Prof. Dr. F. Sandberg (Faculty of Pharmacy, Stockholm University, Sweden). From 1976, he was a senior faculty member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leiden University. In 1987, he was appointed as Professor and head of the department of Pharmacognosy/Plant Cell Biotechnology, Leiden University. In 2003, his group was moved to the Institute of Biology in the same university, and until his retirement, he served as Professor and head of the department of Pharmacognosy/Plant Cell Biotechnology, Metabolomics Section, Institute of Biology, Leiden University. He retired in May 2011 and is currently Emeritus Professor of the Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University.

Prof. Verpoorte was a highly productive scientist throughout his academic career, producing over 750 scientific publications, including research papers, books, and book chapters. His research interests are diverse, covering all topics related to natural products, such as plant cell biotechnology, biosynthesis, metabolomics, genetic engineering, and green technology as well as the isolation of new biologically active compounds from natural products.

Research has not been his only contribution to science; he has also been actively involved in many courses of natural products research, including biotechnology, biosynthesis, separation, and metabolomics. He was also very active in giving lectures in conferences and scientific meetings (15–20 times per year). In addition, he serves as an editorial board member of numerous scientific journals. He was/is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2003–2016), Phytochemistry Reviews (since 2001), and Biotechnology Letters (since 2006).

For his excellent achievements, Prof. Verpoorte received numerous scientific distinctions, honorary doctorates, and professorships. Since his retirement, he has continued to lead an active life devoted to science and has been invited to many scientific meetings all over the world. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer on topics related to natural products chemistry, biotechnology, metabolomics, and green technology.

All his remarkable scientific contributions cannot be reflected on in the limited space of a journal, but the least we can do, as close friends and colleagues who have seen him almost every day for over 15 years, is to produce a Special Issue dedicated to him.

It is our great pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue; regular articles, communications, as well as reviews are all heartily welcome.

Dr. Young Hae Choi
Prof. Dr. Young Pyo Jang
Dr. Yuntao Dai
Dr. Luis Francisco Salomé-Abarca
Guest Editors

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