Gijs van Rooijen graduated with a MSc in Molecular Sciences from the Agricultural University in Wageningen in 1989 and a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from the University of Calgary in 1993. Dr. van Rooijen joined SemBioSys Genetics in 1995 where he advanced to Director of Cellular and Molecular Biology. In January 2003, Dr. van Rooijen assumed the position of Chief Scientific Officer with Genome Prairie, and in 2006 he made the transition into his current position as Chief Scientific Officer for Genome Alberta. Dr. van Rooijen is (co)author of numerous reviewed publications and an (co)inventor on 25 issued US patents. During his doctoral studies, Dr. van Rooijen received several awards and fellowships, including the University of Calgary “Silver Anniversary Graduate Fellowship” (awarded to the four top-ranked doctoral students). From 1997-2006, he was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary.