Rik L. de Swart graduated as a biologist in 1990, obtained his PhD in 1995, and established his research group at the Department of Viroscience at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. Since 2001, he has been a workgroup leader at the Erasmus MC department of Viroscience. He became an Associate Professor in 2019 and obtained ius promovendi in 2022. Since May 2021, he has been employed as a virologist at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research in Lelystad (0.8 FTE) but also remains affiliated as an associate professor at the Erasmus MC (0.2 FTE). At WBVR, he is involved in projects focusing on the pathogenesis of animal morbilliviruses (e.g., Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus, PPRV) and pneumoviruses (e.g., Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus, BRSV). In addition, he is involved in the Next Level Animal Sciences project on Complex Cell Systems and the ERRAZE@WUR project. At Erasmus MC, his research focuses on dissecting the pathogenesis of morbilliviruses (in particular, measles virus and canine distemper virus) and pneumoviruses (in particular, human respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus), zooming in on the interactions between these viruses and the host immune system.