Prof. Gijs Wuite obtained his PhD in biophysics in 2000. Since 2001 he leads his own group at the VU University Amsterdam and in 2009 was appointed to full professor. In his research he has successfully applied quantitative physical tools to investigate fundamental problems in biology, and to search for the unification of apparently unrelated biological phenomena. Moreover, he has been at the front of recent new and fast developments of biophysical techniques that have enabled visualization, manipulation and control of complex biological reactions. Based on this research work he also founded a company (LUMICKS) that sell the technology he and his group has developed. His work has appeared in journal such as Nature, Science, PNAS and Physical Review Letters. His research has been awarded with the prestigious personal VIDI, VICI and ERC grants. In 2009 Wuite was appointed member of the Young Academy, an independent platform of young top scientists within the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.