As of December 3, eighteen clinical scientists have been appointed in the UMC Utrecht. These are UMC Utrecht healthcare providers with interest and proven expertise in conducting scientific research. Divisions and strategic programs have nominated the candidates for this new role. They have been given the opportunity to devote 40 percent of their time to research for five years, guaranteed. From strategic program I&I, the following colleagues have been appointed: Lennie Derde, Mienke Rijsdijk, Maaike van Mourik, András Spaan, Karijn Suijkerbuijk, Helen Leavis and Bas Vastert.

The combination of scientific research and clinical tasks in one person - the clinical scientist - is one of the characteristics of a university medical center. Many medical professionals at UMC Utrecht each have a small (0.1-0.2 fte) research appointment. On an individual level, the workload in healthcare is very high, but scientific research also requires significant efforts and regular peak loads (for example, during the writing of grant applications).

Lack of time

Medical professionals with a small research appointment usually have insufficient time to conduct competitive research in high-value research areas. In addition, often there is a lack of time to set up and manage a research group/lab. It also proves difficult to bridge the gap between basic, translational and clinical research and to participate in scientific bodies (e.g. editorial boards of scientific journals, board positions in research consortia). Because of all these common situations, the necessary multidisciplinary integration of research and care often does not proceed optimally, hindering both innovation and the creation of societal impact.

Combining clinical and scientific tasks

The board of directors therefore asked divisions to nominate clinical scientists, who were then recognized in their roles with support from the strategic programs. They will be enabled to devote a guaranteed 40 percent of their time to research over a five-year period, while also continuing to work at least 40 percent of their time in healthcare.

Member of the Board and Dean Prof. Dr. Arno Hoes: "The added value of an umc is the combination of care, research and education, especially by individuals. But people who combine two or more tasks have to unite very different worlds. By creating the role of clinical scientist, with a fixed share of research time, we hope to help these bridge-builders to have an impact in both worlds. In our strategy 'Connecting Worlds', we integrate research and care, which is much needed to for the ultimate development and implementation of innovations and the creation of societal impact."

Candidate Profile

The typical candidate for this role is a medical professional with a PhD degree (e.g., physician, nursing scientist, psychologist) with a permanent, full-time (0.8-1.0 FTE) appointment at UMC Utrecht. The candidate has an excellent scientific reputation, demonstrable interest and proven expertise in developing and conducting translational research. Furthermore, the candidate is expected to be able to create social impact and build a bridge between research and the clinic.

First batch

The first batch of clinical scientists at UMC Utrecht consists of eighteen colleagues (thirteen women and five men) from seven divisions and five strategic programs (see table). The candidates for the regenerative medicine & stem cells spearhead will be nominated early next year. The intention is to appoint more clinical scientists in the coming years.