Maria Petronella Gerarda Koopmans[1] (born 21 September 1956) is a Dutch virologist who is Head of the Erasmus MC Department of Viroscience.

In 2006 she was appointed as Professor of Public Health at the Erasmus MC hospital in Rotterdam, which allowed her to strengthen the evidence-base of infectious disease research.

Her laboratory makes use of basic scientific studies and epidemiology to understand the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, to establish their transmission routes and to translate this research base into diagnostic tools.

Her experiences in leading the response to the avian influenza outbreak prepared her for subsequent epidemics, including Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Zika virus.

[4] During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Koopmans was responsible for the deployment of mobile laboratories in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

She identified three significant bottlenecks to an efficient response; including delays in regulatory approvals, challenges in the logistics of laboratory support and the absence of a structured timeline for funding.

[8] She is the scientific coordinator of COMPARE, a Horizon 2020 project that looks to develop next generation sequencing techniques for outbreak identification and mapping.

[9] In 2018 Koopmans was honoured by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for her work on the transfer of viruses from animals to humans.

[3][17][18] In the Netherlands, Koopmans made an effort to test healthcare workers, and identified that there were large numbers of asymptomatic carriers amongst the Dutch population.

The 2020 Machiavelli Prize has been awarded to Marion Koopmans and Diederik Gommers, president of the Dutch Society for Intensive Care.

Koopmans and Gommers received the 2020 award for their relentless efforts to make the science on coronavirus accessible to a wide audience.

Deliberately seeking dialogue with doubters about the science and opponents of the policy, during the corona pandemic, helped increase understanding, especially among young people.