Jan Schouten

Johannes Petrus Schouten (born 17 May 1956, in Schoorl) is a Dutch scientist, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the inventor of Multiplex-Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA), a method for the research of genetic disorders. He founded the biotech company MRC Holland, based in Amsterdam and the MRC Holland Foundation.

Early life and education Schouten was born in Schoorl Noord-Holland. He studied cell biology at Wageningen University. After earning his PhD he became an entrepreneur.

Career In 1985 he founded the company MRC Holland, which was based in the buildings of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. The company first focused on the production of restriction enzymes. The method is considered simple, reliable and relatively cheap, and therefore a popular choice in laboratories worldwide, including in developing countries.

Publications His most cited papers are Schouten JP, McElgunn CJ, Waaijer R, Zwijnenburg D,, Diepvens F, Pals G. Relative quantification of 40 nucleic acid sequences by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Nucleic Acids Research. 2002 Jun 15;30(12):e57 According to Google Scholar, it has been cited 3081 times. Nygren AO, Ameziane N, Duarte HM, Vijzelaar RN, Waisfisz Q, Hess CJ, Schouten JP, Errami A. Methylation-specific MLPA (MS-MLPA): simultaneous detection of CpG methylation and copy number changes of up to 40 sequences. Nucleic Acids Research. 2005;33(14):e128. According to Google Scholar, this article has been cited 451 times