Monique Nijhuis studied Molecular Biology and obtained her PhD in 1999 at the University of Utrecht on the investigation of the impact of antiretroviral therapy on HIV fitness. Following postdoctoral research training in respiratory viruses she initiated her own research line and became an associate Professor of Virology at the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands. She is heading the Translational Virology group which performs research at the interface between fundamental and clinical virology. Her research is centered on (I) Viral entry, transmission and pathogenesis (II) Mechanisms of antiviral resistance and viral evolution and (III) Viral-reservoirs and eradication. Monique Nijhuis was granted by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) with the VIDI and ASPASIA award. She is a member of the IAS HIV Cure International Scientific Working Group and the scientific advisory board of the Dutch Aidsfonds and associate editor of Retrovirology. She has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has guided technicians, PhD student, and Postdoctoral Fellows. 

She is teaching Virology in the Bachelor Biomedical Sciences and several Master and PhD programs. She has mentored numerous Bachelor and Graduate students. She is heading the Biological Safety Committee supervising several Biosafety Level III laboratories.