On April 29th 2010 prof. dr. Gert-Jan van Ommen received a medal as a ‘Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw’. The mayor of Amsterdam gave this to him in great appreciation for his scientific merits and devotion.

Van Ommen had a large contribution in deciphering the human genome. He is director of the Center for Medical Systems Biology. As a researcher, he is known for his work in the development of a therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which is now in the clinical trial phase and one of the reasons that the Duchenne Parent Project supported the application.