Journal of Structural Biology 172 (2010) 160

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Journal of Structural Biology

journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate /y jsbi

In Memoriam: Arie Verkleij

away. Arie was a remarkable, pleasant, frank and inspiring person.He had a strong interest in technology but equally in applying new

On Tuesday morning March 17th 2010 Arie Verkleij passed

technologies to address fundamental biological questions.Arie Verkleij was born in Oudewater, The Netherlands, on

December 30th 1944. He studied Biology at Utrecht Universityand obtained his PhD in the group of Prof. Dr. van Deenen, aworld-renowned pioneer in studying phase changes in lipidicsystems and lipid polymorphism. During his PhD training the foun-dations were laid for the visualization of physico-chemical pro-cesses in membranes and their implications for biologicalprocesses such as membrane fusion. In 1979 he worked as apost-doctoral fellow at Harvard in the lab of Dan Branton, wherehe became involved in studying the interactions of erythrocyteproteins with the cell membrane. After returning to Utrecht, Ariepioneered basic research and applications based on cryo-fixationapproaches. Throughout his scientific career he persistentlyfocused on the development of new and better procedures to studycells and tissues. Most of his scientific achievements are linked tothe architecture, structure and dynamics of biomembranes and tothe development and application of immuno-gold labeling.

In collaboration with many other academic research groups andindustrial partners he developed new approaches to study biologyby means of electron microscopy. His broad technical experienceand cell biological knowledge ranged from mixing high-pressurefreezing cocktails, immunolabeling protocols, staining and fixation,freeze fracture, to – especially during the last few years – 3D imag-ing with electron tomography and focussed ion beam-scanningEM. He collaborated with numerous national and internationalcolleagues and he organized and participated in scores of coursesto teach young scientists the power and opportunities provided

doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2010.09.006

by electron microscopy. Arie Verkleij was on the editorial boardof the Journal of Structural Biology from 2004 to 2007.

In the Netherlands and beyond, Arie was the key player in manyaspects of electron microscopy and applications within cell biol-ogy. His openness and integrity made him a cornerstone of theDutch EM community. His strong belief in making the field ofmicroscopy better by working together, not only with other aca-demic scientific groups, but also with industrial groups, such asFEI Company, shaped and defined many aspects of electron micros-copy activities in the Netherlands.

As such, he was also a driving force in the organization andevolution of Dutch electron microscopy. From 1981–1985 he wasvice-president of the Dutch Society of Electron Microscopy and from1987–1992 he was president of that society. In 1991, he was one ofthe founders of the Institute of Biomembranes at the Utrecht Univer-sity and served as director of that Institute until 2004. Subsequentlyhe became Vice-Dean of Life Sciences in the science faculty. In 2009he became Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion for hisextraordinary contributions to science in the Netherlands.

On the 5th of November 2009 Arie gave a farewell lecture at theUniversity of Utrecht. Because of his health problems, he felt that asmall conference would be most pleasant for him. Although thelecture was organized at short notice, an impressively large num-ber of people witnessed a splendid lecture in the largest lecturehall at Utrecht University, in which he gave an overview of his lifewith biology and electron microscopy. The even larger number ofpeople that attended his funeral in the church in Nieuwegein nearUtrecht was testimony of the fact that Arie was not only a fantasticscientist and colleague, but perhaps even more a clear, frank,optimistic and highly trustworthy friend and human being whoenjoyed life to the fullest.

Jan Andries Post, Utrecht University.Bram Koster, Leiden Universitair Medisch Centrum.

Bram KosterLeiden University Medical Center,

Department of Molecular Cell Biology,Einthovenweg 20, 2333 ZC Leiden,

NetherlandsFax: +31 71 526 8270

E-mail address: a.j.koster@lumc.nl

Available online 22 September 2010