Cees Vermeer
Cees Vermeer (born December 14, 1946), biochemist, head researcher at VitaK, the world's largest Vitamin K research group. Incorporated as part of Maastricht University, the company's aim is to find applications for the vitamin and ways to commercialize its use. All profits are reinvested into new research projects.
Vermeer studied biochemistry at the University of Leiden, defending his thesis, "The role of the initiation factor IF3 in the initiation of protein synthesis in Escherichia coli," in 1973. After a two-year post-doctoral position at the Central Lab of the Dutch Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service in Amsterdam, Vermeer started the Maastricht Vitamin K group at the university, where he was appointed associate professor of biochemistry in 1975.
Currently, Vermeer is principal investigator in the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM) and heads the Division of Vitamin K Research. His research activities include molecular biology, biochemistry, animal and human nutrition, pharmacology, and clinical trials in arteriosclerosis and osteoporosis. He's also served as chairman of the university's biochemistry department and was a member of its medical faculty board.
In 2001, Dr. Vermeer was appointed Doctor Honoris Causa by the Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Romania. Formerly a temporary advisor to the World Health Organization, Dr. Vermeer has supervised 17 Ph.D. students and has written for more than 300 international publications.