The Hubrecht Institute is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and focuses on developmental biology (mainly of animals) and stem cell research (including fetal, adult and cancer cells).
Work ranges across the field of biology, from the activation and inactivation of genes, to the development of whole organs such as the heart, the intestine and the brain. One aim of research is to develop the ability to repair organs that have suffered damage (e.g. during a heart attack). Embryonic and tissue stem cells provide vital clues on how to do this.
UMC Utrecht's collaboration with the Hubrecht Institute is unique in its range, encompassing the entire developmental biology of animals, from fertilisation to mature organism.
Prof.dr. J.C. (Hans) Clevers, director Hubrecht Institute