Paulien van Vredendaal

In seed potato cultivation, the leafroll virus, along with the Potato Virus Y (PVY), remains a major problem to this day. PVY in particular, which is transmitted by aphids, causes significant crop losses. That is why reducing these infections is the primary focus of one of the research studies conducted at WUR, which brings together […]

In October 2023 the biography of Prof. Thung, entitled “Tussen de vier zeeen” (Between the four seas), by author Frans Glissenaar was published. To timeline

The importance of Thung’s research was once again emphasised in a 2014 study conducted by Professor J.C. Zadoks on Thung’s investigations into the lanas disease, in the 1930s in Klaten. Zadoks worked as a phytopathologist at the predecessors of Wageningen University & Research from 1961 to 1994. In his publication, Black shank of tobacco in

In 2013, Professor Vlak was succeeded by the current chair holder, Professor M. Van Oers. Under Van Oers’ leadership, the department has focused, among other things, on how viruses manipulate their host or vector (disseminator, e.g. an insect), thereby increasing their chances of surviving and spreading. The department’s research focuses on plant and insect viruses,

Prof. Goldbach was succeeded by interim chair holder Professor Dr J.M. Vlak, who specialised in research on the use of viruses in biological pest control in agriculture and horticulture, and prevention of viral diseases in invertebrates such as shrimps, bees, and flies. He also focused on the use of insect viruses in the development and

With the 1987 appointment Dr R.W. Goldbach (1950-2009) as Professor of Virology, virology research took on a more molecular slant, in particular research on the cowpea mosaic virus and the tomato spotted wilt virus. Under Goldbach’s leadership, the quality and international visibility of Wageningen virology research were greatly enhanced. Professor Goldbach died in 2009 following

Following Thung’s death, Dr J.P.H. van der Want was appointed Professor of Virology, a position he held until 1986. Until his appointment, Van der Want had been head of the Virology Department at IPO (a position in which he also succeeded Thung). Van der Want gave his staff full freedom to choose and develop their

Thungs death was mourned by many. His colleague and friend, Professor Loes Kerling, aptly expressed this feeling in her ‘In Memoriam’ in Tijdschrift over Plantenziekten: “He devoted his life to his family, his research, and bringing together people of different nationalities and perspectives. (…) We are grateful to have known this man, so full of

Thungs last trip in 1960 was a visit to Braunschweig in West Germany in September 1960, to attend the fourth edition of the Conference on Potato Virus Diseases, an initiative he had launched in 1951. He was only able to witness the early days of the ‘molecular-biological revolution’ of the late 1950s. He died rather

Thung personally conducted little to no scientific research in the late 1950s. He was mainly busy organising meetings, attracting funding, and maintaining his international networks. He travelled a lot, the Soviet Union, the United States, Venezuela, Suriname, Togo and China. His last trip was a visit to Braunschweig in West Germany in September 1960, to