Peter Luijten

On Friday 27 September, as the opening of Utrecht Science Week, the Utrecht Science Lecture by Peter was held as part of his farewell. The lecture highlighted how the life sciences field is constantly changing, how much is happening in Utrecht and how there is cooperation between partners. Peter invited four colleagues who spoke about their expertise and experience. In doing so, he showed the variety in the type of researchers and talent. We talked with Peter about his interesting career, collaborations within Utrecht life sciences research and the future.   

How it began

Peter received his PhD in magnetic resonance, the principle on which MRI imaging is based. His PhD research was very fundamental in character and often not easy to explain.

‘During my study period, I attended a lecture by someone from the US. He showed that with the same technique, with which I did that hard-to-grasp research, you can also make an image out of an object, without using dangerous radiation or breaking anything. I was incredibly triggered by this as the far-reaching applications of this were evident. When you say ‘I'm working on a technique that allows me to see right through you’, it's a different story from the description with all the difficult terms. I noticed after the lecture, in conversation the next morning at the coffee table, that many senior physicists thought the subject of the lecture was just nonsense. I thought that was an overly simple judgement. It turned out later that the man who gave the lecture was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine as one of the inventors of MRI. This tells us that you should not always rely on the judgment of the established researcher, but you should form your own opinion too,’ Peter continued.   

Philips and the move to Utrecht 

In 1984, Peter was recruited by the former Philips Medical Systems to work with a group of young scientists to develop and set up the company's first MRI devices. ‘I was in a multidisciplinary team that had only one common goal: to develop the best MRI machine for the patient care. The commitment and motivation was huge. I was outside the factory a lot, in hospitals to be as close as possible to the final user and understand what the medical specialist needed.’ 

In the early 80s, Peter had his first contact with Utrecht: ‘I came to the Utrecht Science Park, at the UMC Utrecht. The hospital was still under construction, but it already had a Philips MR machine. I had to walk through the mud with my rubber boots on to get to the UMCU.’

‘That multidisciplinary aspect I was familiar with at Philips is also seen here. An MRI machine, for example, consists of a very extensive system, involving several disciplines. So you need knowledge from different fields.’  

In 2005, Peter was asked, after spending some time in the US, to come to Utrecht and lead a major MRI project, linked to the purchase of a large MRI device, at the time the most powerful. There he set up a research track focusing on high-field MRI, which continues to this day.  

The unique character of the Utrecht Science Park  het Utrecht Science Park  

There is a great diversity of different disciplines in Utrecht, which offers many advantages.  

Peter says the situation in Utrecht is unique: ‘With the size of the life sciences, as well as the diversity and broad scope. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is also unique, which is nowhere else. We have the largest academic centre: UMC Utrecht. You also have the Princess Máxima Center there, which is the largest paediatric oncology centre in Europe. The Hubrecht Institute: the home of matters such as organoids, which have also played an important role in oncology and in cystic fybrosis. Working in such an environment and contributing, developing connections better, I genuinely experienced that as a privilege.’ 

‘In Utrecht, great strides have been made and research in life sciences is much encompassing,’ says Peter. ‘It may not always be known to the general public, but if you learn about it, you know that it is really unique.'

Working together within the themes 

Peter elaborates on his appointment as vice dean at the Strategic Theme Life Sciences (STLS): ‘In my time at UMC Utrecht, I was responsible for the Image and Oncology division. I was then already associated with the Strategic Theme Life Sciences. The three former deans of Beta, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the time found that there should be a label on life sciences with the establishment of a vice dean.’  

Together with a small team, he worked within the STLS on the bigger picture and made connections. The team contributed to big successes. This brought in several growth funds for, among others, the CPBT (Centre for Animal-free Biomedical Translation), aiming to accelerate the transition to animal-free biomedical innovations. ‘That has given a huge boost and we can see the benefits of that in the coming years,’ Peter says proudly.  

Multidisciplinary collaboration 

Peter mentioned earlier that the uniqueness of the Utrecht Science Park lies in the various disciplines that come together. There is already a lot of cooperation, but much more could be done. ‘There are many related disciplines and we could make even more use of them. In the social faculties and the humanities, there are people who have incredible experience in topics such as behavioural change. Society is becoming more complex and mental health is a huge problem among young people. More attention needs to be paid to that. I wish I had paid more attention to that in my time here, but you can't do everything. It is important to pay attention to that in the future. The social sciences field is very supportive towards that.’   

The future

And how does he envisage the future in about five years: ‘I hope, staying close to my field, that there will be more development in technology. People look at technology as expensive things and cost-prohibitive, but the right technology in the right place can provide huge solutions to the most pressing issues in medicine.’

‘A current issue, for example, is sustainability within the curative care sector. There is a shortage of staff, but the technology being worked on will allow the number of hospital admissions for many conditions to be significantly reduced. More procedures will therefore be able to be performed on an outpatient basis. Good for patients, but also for healthcare staff as this will eliminate many 24-hour shifts. Of course, complex care with longer admissions will always remain, but there is no doubt that shifts will take place that will benefit us all.  These shifts will also change the nature of many medical specialities,’ says Peter.  

The new generation of researchers 

Looking to the future, we concluded by asking what Peter would like to pass on to the new generation of researchers. ‘’What advice I would like to give them is very cliché, but follow your heart and don't be afraid. Think out-of-the-box and see what's happening next door. Start to work and occasionally bump your nose, that's part of it. There are so many great things to do.’  oois te doen.” 

On behalf of the Utrecht Science Park Foundation, we would like to thank Peter very much for his enormous impact on research in Life Sciences, his open mind and the pleasant cooperation. We wish Peter all the best with everything else that will come his way. 

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