From January 2026, FAST and Health-RI, officially represent the Netherlands in EATRIS, the European network that accelerates translational medical research. Saco de Visser (Scientific Director of FAST) and Alain van Gool (Professor of Personalized Healthcare, Radboudumc) have been appointed as directors of EATRIS-NL (the Dutch node of EATRIS).

EATRIS (European Infrastructure for Translational Medicine) is a European network that helps researchers bring medical discoveries from the laboratory to the patient more quickly. The collaboration between FAST and Health-RI in EATRIS-NL will bring together expertise in innovative therapy development in the Netherlands, including access to facilities for advanced therapies, clinical research, biomarkers, and imaging.

Saco de Visser, co-director of the Dutch node, says: “With FAST and Health-RI representing EATRIS-NL, we can offer researchers and companies direct access to the European network and the expertise needed to bring innovations to patients more quickly.”

Alain van Gool, co-director, adds: “This is an important step for the Netherlands in terms of mutual and European cooperation. It enables us, as EATRIS-NL, to better pool the knowledge and infrastructure of Health-RI, FAST and the affiliated organizations and make them more visible at the European level. Health-RI also facilitates collaboration with other infrastructures.”

This new structure makes it easier for Dutch researchers and companies to use the services and expertise of EATRIS and contribute to innovative therapy development. With this step, the Netherlands is strengthening its position within the European network.

Developers can gain insight into the network and contact us with questions and opportunities via the FAST.nl and EATRIS.eu websites.