Cornelis investigates the complex mechanisms of bacterial infectious diseases. He received particular recognition for the co-discovery with H. Wolf-Watz (Umea, Sweden) of the bacterial type III secretion system (T3SS).[4][5][6] T3SS is a mechanism by which many bacteria inject a cocktail of toxins, so-called effector proteins into animal, plant or insect cells. The effectors disarm or reprogram the target cell by sabotaging the cellular signaling network. The T3SS apparatus, called injectisome, is a complex nanosyringe made of more than 25 different proteins. Since 2004, Cornelis also studies Capnocytophaga canimorsus, a bacterium from dog's mouths responsible for fatal infections in humans.
[7] Cornelis belongs to the world’s most cited scientists.[8][9]
Awards and honors
1980: Prize of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine
1985: Pfizer Prize
1993: Member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine