Eelco is a Specialist Phytopathology Research at Rijk Zwaan Breeding in the Netherlands.  He obtained his MS degree in Phytopathology from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. After working at Wageningen University as a phytopathologist for three years he moved to Rijk Zwaan in 1999 where he has been working on disease resistance and seed health. Over the last years he has been active as a member of the Plantum working groups 'Phytopathological Research' and 'Isolate Collection' and the ISF working group on Disease Resistance and Terminology.