Maarten Merkx

Maarten Merkx is a full professor and dean of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). He leads the Protein Engineering research group, focusing on biomolecular sensors and actuators for applications in intracellular imaging, diagnostics, optogenetics, and therapies. His work bridges chemical biology and synthetic biology, with a focus on engineering protein switches like fluorescent and bioluminescent sensors. He has received prestigious grants including ERC Consolidator (2011) and Proof of Concept grants (2014, 2017). Notable achievements include developing glow-in-the-dark diagnostics and DNA computing applications. He is an associate editor of ACS Sensors and has been recognized for teaching excellence (Best TU/e Teacher, 2012).

• Education: Radboud University Nijmegen (BSc/ MSc, cum laude), PhD (University of Amsterdam, 1999), postdoc (MIT, 2000).
• Research Themes: Bioluminescent sensors, protein engineering, point-of-care diagnostics, synthetic biology.
• Key Collaborations: Multi-institutional projects on vaccine platforms, sepsis therapy (with Radboudumc and TU/e).

His research contributes to UN SDGs through innovations in healthcare diagnostics and therapies. He supervises over 100 students and actively engages in public discourse (e.g., World Economic Forum, Wired features).