Raymond Pieters

Name, position and organisation

My name is Raymond Pieters. I'm an immunotoxicologist. I work at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht three days a week and spend the other two days at Utrecht University, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS). I serve as a professor at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and also focus on subjects like intestinal research in my capacity as a toxicologist. From within the HU, we started the InnovationLab with Friso Smit of Utrecht Science Park, and I'm still closely associated with the project.

The InnovationLab was set up based on the idea that the university has the all the necessary knowledge, equipment, space and students to conduct relevant research. We pair those resources with start-up companies that do not have access to them yet. That means we are connecting students to the field and giving start-up companies the opportunity to do valuable research without having to buy everything themselves.

What does Utrecht Science Park mean to you?

Utrecht Science Park obviously refers to the area itself, but I tend to associate it with all the people and institutions there, including University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and RIVM in the near future. I see it as an area that is brimming with potential. The Utrecht Science Park Foundation also played a key role in the InnovationLab, since it genuinely represents the area, knows how to connect the right people and helped us draw more attention to our initiative.

What is the impact of Utrecht Science Park on society? And what is your role in it?

Utrecht Science Park may well be the most important regional player in a wide range of fields, such as life sciences, sustainability and quality of life. I cannot imagine Utrecht without Utrecht Science Park. It is home to lots of collaborations that I think really benefit the region.

Personally, I hope to make an impact by giving young people the chance to expand and apply their knowledge. We do this by giving them opportunities to carry out applied research at the InnovationLab. On the other hand, I’d like to play a role in finding applications for knowledge in society. One of the goals of research at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht is to bring alternatives to animal procedures up to the level where they can be applied practically. Various pioneering projects with this goal are now under way, including projects aimed at predicting the toxic effects of materials through more effective use of data and AI. It would be great if we could dispense with animal procedures altogether one day, beginning with those for standard toxicological research.

I cannot imagine Utrecht without Utrecht Science Park. It is home to lots of collaborations that I think really benefit the region.

What is your personal dream with regard to your role? What would you like to achieve in the next five or ten years?

In 10 years I expect to be retired! But if I were still young… then in 10 years I might well be doing just what I do now, because I really like this work. Maybe I’d choose to work more directly with other people, because I do actually spend a lot of time at my computer, for instance writing project proposals.

My wish for Utrecht Science Park is for even more activity to take place, including more cooperation between UU, UMC Utrecht and HU. And relating to this: if you have a good idea, you should be able to get down to work immediately instead of first having to seek funding. I also think it would be great if the InnovationLab were to become available to the entire Utrecht Science Park, instead of chiefly being part of HU – in other words, if the InnovationLab were to be shared by the institutes and also be an incubator for lots of great project ideas developed jointly by higher professional education and university students. Even though things are already organised very well, integrating more institutes would be a great next step.

For more information on the InnovationLab, visit www.utrechtinnovatielab.nl