Paul De Bra studied Mathematics (with a focus on Computer Science) at the University of Antwerp and graduated in 1981. He also obtained a teaching degree in 1981, and in 1987 a PhD in (Computer) Science, also in Antwerp. His research field was Databases, with a thesis on Horizontal Decompositions in the Relational Database Model.
For most of 1988 and 1989 he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, in the Information Systems Principles department.
After that he became first associate and later (1996) full professor at the TU/e, in the field of Databases. He is best known for his research on personalization in web-based systems and on technology-enhanced learning.
He published around 200 scientific papers and 3 books. For many years he was board member (and for 8 years also president) of User Modeling Inc., a non-profit organization for User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization.
Since his retirement Paul De Bra has turned his attention to music, and in particular to the accordion. For about 30 years he was conductor of the accordion ensemble Avanti in Antwerp (until 2014). He makes many arrangements for accordion ensembles, which are freely available and played all over the world. He plays the bass accordion in ensembles and orchestras, and is a trained accordion repairer (who does voluntary repair work, only for friends).