Rob van Dalen is a postdoctoral researcher at the Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA). He obtained his PhD from Utrecht University on the role of cell wall sugar detection in the immune response against staphylococcal bacteria.

After completing his PhD, he conducted research at the University of Tübingen (Germany) into the contribution of the immune system to the interaction between the host and the human nasal microbiome. He then went on to develop specialized screening methods at Amsterdam UMC to map the cell wall sugars of bacteria in the microbiome.

At ACTA, Rob applies his knowledge of interactions between the immune system and the microbiome to the oral ecosystem in order to better understand the development of oral disease and the natural resistance to it.