Dr. W.J.D. (Werner) Ouwendijk

Werner Ouwendijk is an Assistant Professor at the department of Viroscience (Erasmus MC). His research is focused on the molecular basis of herpesvirus latency and reactivation, with an emphasis on the human alpha-herpesviruses varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1).

Additionally, he investigates how lifelong infection with herpesviruses can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases.

Molecular Virology

Herpesviruses

2020 – present: Assistant Professor, Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

2019 – 2020: Scientific Researcher, Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

2013 – 2019: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

2008 – 2013: PhD, Department of Virology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

2006 – 2008: MSc, Biomedical Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

2003 – 2006: BSc, Biomedical Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

Complete list of published work:

PURE: https://pure.eur.nl/en/persons/werner-ouwendijk

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8393-296X

 

Recent Key Publications:

No evidence of aberrant amyloid β and phosphorylated tau expression in herpes simplex virus-infected neurons of the trigeminal ganglia and brain. Tran DN, Bakx ATCM, van Dis V, Aronica E, Verdijk RM, Ouwendijk WJD.
Brain Pathol. 2022 Jul;32(4):e13044.

Mutagenesis of the Varicella-Zoster Virus Genome Demonstrates That VLT and VLT-ORF63 Proteins Are Dispensable for Lytic Infection.
Braspenning SE, Lebbink RJ, Depledge DP, Schapendonk CME, Anderson LA, Verjans GMGM, Sadaoka T, Ouwendijk WJD.
Viruses. 2021 Nov 16;13(11):2289.

The architecture of the simian varicella virus transcriptome.
Braspenning SE, Verjans GMGM, Mehraban T, Messaoudi I, Depledge DP, Ouwendijk WJD.
PLoS Pathog. 2021 Nov 22;17(11):e1010084.

Varicella-zoster virus VLT-ORF63 fusion transcript induces broad viral gene expression during reactivation from neuronal latency.
Ouwendijk WJD, Depledge DP, Rajbhandari L, Lenac Rovis T, Jonjic S, Breuer J, Venkatesan A, Verjans GMGM, Sadaoka T.
Nat Commun. 2020 Dec 10;11(1):6324.

Decoding the Architecture of the Varicella-Zoster Virus Transcriptome.
Braspenning SE, Sadaoka T, Breuer J, Verjans GMGM, Ouwendijk WJD, Depledge DP.
mBio. 2020 Oct 6;11(5):e01568-20.

Molecular Aspects of Varicella-Zoster Virus Latency.
Depledge DP, Sadaoka T, Ouwendijk WJD.
Viruses. 2018 Jun 28;10(7):349.

A spliced latency-associated VZV transcript maps antisense to the viral transactivator gene 61.
Depledge DP, Ouwendijk WJD, Sadaoka T, Braspenning SE, Mori Y, Cohrs RJ, Verjans GMGM, Breuer J.
Nat Commun. 2018 Mar 21;9(1):1167.

Werner has been teaching in the Master program “Infection and Immunity” (since 2014) and the Minor program “Biomedical Research in Practice” (since 2018) at Erasmus MC.

He has supervised multiple Bachelor students, Master students, and was/is co-promotor of three PhD students.

Ongoing grants:

1. NIAID NIH R01AI151290: Role of VZV latency transcript (VLT) and ORF63 in latency and reactivation.
   
   
2. NWO ENW-XS OCENW.XS22.3.025: Impact of virus infections on the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
   
   
3. NWO ENW-M1 OCENW.M.22.052: Awakening of a sleeping virus: chromatin control of varicella-zoster virus latency and reactivation.