Keynote lectures 2025

Professor Hans Clevers earned his Master’s degree in Biology in 1982 and completed his MD and PhD at the University of Utrecht in 1984 and 1985, respectively. After postdoctoral research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, he returned to the Netherlands in 1989 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Immunology at the University of Utrecht. In 2002, he was appointed Head Director of the Hubrecht Institute, where he led a research group as Principal Investigator. His groundbreaking discovery of LGR5 as a key marker for Wnt-dependent adult stem cells paved the way for the development of organoid technology, enabling the growth of mini-organs in vitro. This groundbreaking innovation has transformed fields such as disease modelling, drug discovery, and personalised medicine. In 2015, he became Director Research of the Princess Maxima Center for Paediatric Oncology.

Currently, Professor Clevers is a Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Utrecht and serves as Head of Pharma Research and Early Development at Roche Basel. He is also a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Society.

Throughout his career, he has been honoured with numerous prestigious awards, including the 2001 Spinoza Award, the 2004 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine, the 2012 Heineken Prize for Medicine, the 2013 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the 2016 Körber European Science Prize, the 2019 the Citation Laureate, and the 2021 Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award. His innovative work continues to redefine the landscape of personalised medicine and disease research, impacting global healthcare profoundly.

Professor Peter Hegemann earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemistry from the University of Münster and Ludwig-Maximilian-University of Munich in 1980. He completed his PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in 1984, focusing on halorhodopsin, a light-sensitive ion pump protein. Following postdoctoral research at Syracuse University in 1986, he joined an independent research group at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry. In 1993, he became Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Regensburg, where he made the groundbreaking discovery of channelrhodopsins – light-sensitive proteins that revolutionised neuroscience and laid the foundation for the field of optogenetics. In 2005, he joined Humboldt University of Berlin as a Professor of Experimental Biophysics and was named Hertie Professor for Biophysics in 2016.

Professor Hegemann’s research focuses on the structure and function of light-activated proteins and their applications in neuroscience and medicine. His pioneering contributions to the development of optogenetics, a transformative technology that uses light to control neuronal activity, have had a profound impact on science and medicine.

For his exceptional work, Professor Hegemann has been honoured with numerous prestigious awards, including the 2020 Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine, the 2021 Lasker Award for Basic Science, and the 2022 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize. As a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, his discoveries continue to revolutionise the understanding and treatment of neurological disorders, shaping the future of biomedical science.

Professor Svetlana Mojsov earned her degree in Physical Chemistry from the University of Belgrade in 1971 and completed her PhD at the Rockefeller University in 1978 under the mentorship of Nobel laureate Bruce Merrifield, focusing on peptide synthesis. In 1983, she joined the Endocrine Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital as an Assistant in Biochemistry and Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where she also served as the inaugural director of the Howard Hughes Peptide Core Facility. During this time, she conducted groundbreaking independent research, discovering that GLP-1(7-37) functions as an incretin with therapeutic potential for Type 2 diabetes. This discovery laid the foundation for GLP-1(7-37) based therapies, leading to the development of widely used medications such as liraglutide (Victoza) and semaglutide (Ozempic) for diabetes and obesity treatment.

In 1990, Professor Mojsov returned to Rockefeller University as an Assistant Professor and continued her pioneering work on GLP-1 biology. Her remarkable contributions were recognized in 2002 with her promotion to Research Associate Professor.

Professor Mojsov’s impressive achievements have been honoured with numerous prestigious awards, including the 2023 VinFuture Prize, the 2024 Pearl Meister Greengard Award, the 2024 Tang Foundation Prize, the 2024 Princess of Asturias Prize, and the 2024 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. Her innovative work has transformed the treatment of metabolic diseases, impacting millions of patients worldwide.

Professor David Huang earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1985 and his MD and PhD from the joint Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program in 1993. He completed his residency in Ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute and a fellowship in Cornea at Emory University. Co-inventor of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in 1991, Professor Huang transformed medical imaging with this transformative technology now used in over 40 million procedures annually worldwide. Beyond his academic achievements, he co-founded Gobiquity, creator of the GoCheck Kids app, which has screened over 5 million preschoolers for amblyopia risk factors.

Currently, he serves as Director of Research of Casey Eye Institute, holds the Wold Family Endowed Chair in Ophthalmic Imaging, and is a Professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health & Science University, where he leads the Center for Ophthalmic Optics and Lasers. He is also a practicing ophthalmologist specialising in cornea and refractive surgery.

Professor Huang’s contributions have earned him numerous honours, including the 2012 Champalimaud Vision Award, the 2013 Jonas Friedenwald Award, the 2017 Russ Prize, the 2023 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, and the 2023 National Medal of Technology and Innovation. He is a distinguished member of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Medicine, and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and the American Ophthalmological Society. Through his innovative work, Professor Huang continues to advance ophthalmology, enhancing diagnostic tools and improving patient care worldwide.