Martien Kas

Martien J. H. Kas (born 27 November 1966, Uithoorn) is professor at the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, the Netherlands, where he leads a research group entitled "Behavioural Neuroscience". His research aims to develop a quantitative, transdiagnostic and translational neurobiological approach to the understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders in order to accelerate the discovery and development of better treatments for patients with those disorders. The ability to precisely link neuropsychiatric symptoms to underlying neurobiology will not only facilitate the development of better treatments, it will also allow physicians to provide patients with a better understanding of the complexities and management of their illness.

He is currently President of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), the largest European organisation for neuroscience applied research. ECNP provides a platform for interactions between scientists, patients and their families, pharmaceutical industry and regulators for optimizing the treatment of brain disorders, and organizes many activities, including an annual congress with 4500-6000 participants.

Career
Kas received his M.Sc. in biology, with specialization in neurobiology, psychopharmacology, and ethology from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience from Stanford University and the University of Groningen. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University Medical Center Utrecht and was a visiting scientist at the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry (London). He was an associate professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, at the University Medical Center Utrecht

By applying interspecies genetic analysis of neurobehavioral traits (in mice and humans), Kas' research aims to identify functional genotype–phenotype relationships relevant to the development and etiology-directed treatment of brain disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders.

Honors
Kas has received a Marie Curie Fellowship as principal investigator. He received a VIDI grant as principal investigator on a project studying interspecies genetics of neurobehavioral traits in mice and men. As project coordinator he was awarded the Innovative Medicines Initiative PRISM1 and PRISM2 projects, and co-awarded the Innovative Medicines Initiative projects for Translational Endpoints in Autism (EU-AIMS) and Aims-2-trials.

Publications
Kas has published extensively, with numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters to his name.