Dirk Bootsma
{{Short description|Dutch geneticist (1936–2020)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name =
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|5|23|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|10|5|1936|5|23|df=y}}
| death_place =
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| citizenship =
| nationality = Dutch
| fields =
| workplaces = Erasmus University Rotterdam
| education =
| alma_mater = Utrecht University
| known_for = Discovering cause of chronic myelogenous leukemia
| awards = Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (1995)
|thesis_title=De invloed van röntgenstraling op de delingscyclus van in vitro gekweekte cellen
|thesis_year=1965
|thesis_url=
|doctoral_advisor=Jacob A. Cohen
}}
Dirk Bootsma (23 May 1936 – 5 October 2020) was a Dutch geneticist. He was a professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam from 1969 and 2002. He and his research group discovered the cause of chronic myelogenous leukemia and furthered the understanding of the nucleotide excision repair.{{cite web|author=F. Kievits and M.T. Adriaanse |url=https://www.ntvg.nl/artikelen/nieuws/profdrdbootsma/volledig |title=Prof.dr.D.Bootsma |publisher=Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde |date=14 October 2002 |access-date=24 December 2016}}
Career
Bootsma was born on 23 May 1936.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.baschirotto.com/Riconoscimenti/dirkbootsma.asp |title=Prof. Dirk Bootsma |language=Italian |publisher=Associazione Malattie Rare "Mauro Baschirotto" |date= |access-date=24 December 2016}}{{cite web|author= |url=https://images.nrc.nl/a2XaqD8F02WLzMtgR7x7yPVdGu4=/x/filters:no_upscale():format(jpeg):fill(f8f8f8,true)/s3/nrchub/clippings/NH/20201008/308-advertisement-217770_1271204_bootsma01-5b8d6e.png |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008213722/https://images.nrc.nl/a2XaqD8F02WLzMtgR7x7yPVdGu4=/x/filters:no_upscale%28%29:format%28jpeg%29:fill%28f8f8f8,true%29/s3/nrchub/clippings/NH/20201008/308-advertisement-217770_1271204_bootsma01-5b8d6e.png |title=Dirk Bootsma |publisher=NRC Handelsblad |date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2020}} He began studying biology at Utrecht University in September 1953. He conducted his first DNA research under Professor Winkler.{{cite web|author=Geertje Dekkers |url=https://www.historischnieuwsblad.nl/nl/artikel/6055/vijftig-jaar-geleden-geneticus-dirk-bootsma-over-de-ontdekking-van-de-dna-structuur-door-watson-en-crick.html |title=Vijftig jaar geleden: Geneticus Dirk Bootsma over de ontdekking van de DNA-structuur door Watson en Crick |language=Dutch |publisher=Historisch Nieuwsblad |date=January 2003 |access-date=24 December 2016}} In 1965, he earned his PhD under Jacob A. Cohen from Leiden University with a thesis titled: "De invloed van röntgenstraling op de delingscyclus van in vitro gekweekte cellen".{{cite web|author= |url=https://leiden.courant.nu/issue/LLC/1965-06-25/edition/0/page/5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016091650/https://leiden.courant.nu/issue/LLC/1965-06-25/edition/0/page/5 |title=Leidse Universiteit |publisher=De Leidse Courant |date=25 June 1965 |archive-date=16 October 2020}} In the late 1960s, Bootsma performed his compulsory military service at the Medical-Biological Laboratory of the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) where he researched the influence of X-radiation on chromosomes in living cells.
After completing his PhD, Bootsma joined the newly founded Department of Cell Biology and Genetics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. In 1969, he became a professor of genetics. With the advent of recombinant DNA, Bootsma and his department utilised this innovation. In 1974, he organized the second Human Gene Mapping Conference in Noordwijkerhout. Later, Bootsma shifted his focus from gene mapping to cancer research, building on his earlier experiences at TNO. He invested mechanisms of DNA repair, particularly in rare forms of skin cancer, and discovered several proteins in this field. Bootsma had a special interest in chromosome 22, which was recently implicated in chronic myelogenous leukemia. In 1982, the Bootsma's research team discovered the cause of this specific type of blood cancer: two broken chromosomes (9 and 22) which were attached mistakenly reattached to the other, leading to the Philadelphia chromosome.{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.medischcontact.nl/nieuws/dossiers/geschiedenis-1/50.-het-fusiegen-1982.htm |title=50. Het fusiegen (1982) |language=Dutch |publisher=Medisch Contact |date=10 December 2009 |access-date=24 December 2016}}
Another topic on which Bootsma furthered research from his time at TNO was DNA repair. He set up research into genetic disorders, especially xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). For this research, Bootsma used human cells, being one of the first in the Netherlands to do so. With the developing of technology, especially the possibility to insert foreign DNA into humans and the discovery of recombinant DNA, Bootsma was able to further his study of XP. In 1984, his group was able to clone the repair gene ERCC1. When ERCC3 was also cloned, this led to a solution for DNA repair in XP-patients by inserting them in their fibroblasts, leading to an overall furthered understanding of the nucleotide excision repair.
Bootsma retired in October 2002 and was succeeded as group research leader by Jan Hoeijmakers.
Honours and distinctions
Bootsma was elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization in 1976.{{cite web|author= |url=http://people.embo.org/profile/dirk-bootsma |title=Dirk Bootsma |publisher=European Molecular Biology Organization |date= |access-date=8 January 2017}} He was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1983.{{cite web |author= |url=https://www.knaw.nl/en/members/members/3918 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225144624/https://www.knaw.nl/en/members/members/3918 |title=D. Bootsma |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |date= |archive-date=25 December 2016}} Bootsma was elected a member of the Academia Europaea in 1991.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Bootsma_Dirk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328104806/https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Bootsma_Dirk |title=Dirk Bootsma |publisher=Academia Europaea |date= |archive-date=28 March 2019}}
Bootsma and Jan Hoeijmakers won the 1995 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine.{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.jeantet.ch/en/prix-louis-jeantet/laureats/1995-en/professeur-dirk-bootsma-et-professeur-jan-h-j-hoeijmakers/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012005621/https://www.jeantet.ch/en/prix-louis-jeantet/laureats/1995-en/professeur-dirk-bootsma-et-professeur-jan-h-j-hoeijmakers/ |title=Professor Dirk BOOTSMA |language=French |publisher=Louis-Jeantet Foundation |date= October 2017|archive-date=12 October 2020}} In 1996, Bootsma held the Rogier Soher Lecture of the International Agency for Research on Cancer.{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.iarc.fr/en/about/iarc-medalshonour.php |title=IARC Medals of Honour |publisher=International Agency for Research on Cancer |date= |access-date=24 December 2016}} In 2000, he won the Mauro Baschirotto Award of the European Society of Human Genetics.{{cite web |author= |url=https://www.eshg.org/53.0.html |title=ESHG Award |publisher=European Society of Human Genetics |date= |access-date=24 December 2016 |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202045816/https://www.eshg.org/53.0.html |url-status=dead }} In 2009, Bootsma's discovery of the relation between chronic myelogenous leukemia and the Philadelphia chromosome was incorporated in the Dutch canon of medicine.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.erasmusmc.nl/corp_home/corp_news-center/2009/2009-12/canon.geneeskunde1/?lang=en |title=Overzicht Nederlandse geneeskunde met Rotterdams tintje |language=Dutch |publisher=Erasmus MC |date=15 December 2009 |access-date=24 December 2016}}
References
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Category:Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam
Category:Leiden University alumni
Category:Members of Academia Europaea
Category:Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization
Category:Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences