Winner of the ISME Tiedje Award 2024

ISME is delighted to celebrate Jan Dirk (Dick) van Elsas outstanding lifetime contribution to microbial ecology and his enduring legacy in the field with the Tiedje Award.  

Jan Dirk van Elsas is one of the fathers of modern soil microbial ecology. He has led key pioneering studies on horizontal gene transfer in soils and the overall use of molecular tools to study soil microbes, e.g. developing some of the first protocols for DNA and RNA extraction from soil samples - which were crucial for the development of the field. He is the author/editor of several seminal articles and books, such as the Modern Soil Microbiology, currently in its third edition. His contributions are deeply intertwined with the history of ISME, reflecting his active involvement in ISME-supported activities throughout his career. Jan Dirk has mentored many prominent microbial ecologists, including current and past ISME board members, embedding his research's DNA across the community. This award celebrates his outstanding lifetime contribution to microbial ecology and his enduring legacy in the field. 

Jan Dirk van Elsas will give a talk titled 'A microbial ecologist's view on the role of horizontal gene transfer in complex soil/plant-associated microbiomes' at the 19th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology. ISME19 will be held in Cape Town from 18-23 August 2024.

Jan Dirk van Elsas is an Emeritus Professor of Microbial Ecology at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Professor van Elsas obtained his M.Sc. degree in Chemical Technology at the University of Delft, The Netherlands. He then obtained his Ph.D. degree in Microbiology from the Institute of Microbiology Professor Paulo de Goes at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IMPPG-UFRJ), Brazil. From Rio de Janeiro, he moved to Wageningen University and Research Centre, where he occupied various positions, lastly as the leader of the Microbial Buffering group at the Plant Research International (PRI) institute. In 2003, he moved to the University of Groningen, where he took the chair Professorship of Microbial Ecology. Professor van Elsas is a specialist of bacterial survival and evolution by horizontal gene transfer in soil, the rhizosphere and the mycosphere. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers in this area, and edited several books. He has been a leader in the exploration of horizontal gene processes and agents in soil activity hot spots, including the rhizosphere and mycosphere. Professor van Elsas formally retired in 2017 and is currently iinvolved in a range of science policy and management activities.*)

ISME presents the Tiedje Award to an exalted microbial ecologist recognized for their outstanding lifetime contribution to the field of microbial ecology. Past winners of this award include Farooq Azam (2004), Gijs Kuenen (2006), Norman Pace (2008), Bo Barker Jørgensen (2010), Stephen Giovannoni (2012), Nancy Moran (2014), Sallie Chisholm (2016), Michael Wagner (2018) and Ken Nealson in 2022.  

* Biography from Modern Soil Microbiology, Third Edition by Jan Dirk van Elsas (Editor), Jack T. Trevors (Editor), Alexandre Soares Rosado (Editor), Paolo Nannipieri (Editor)