In the shadow of Rotterdam’s impressive and well-known skyline is a world of medical innovation and scientific advances, particularly in the field of genomics. Rotterdam has a long history in DNA research.

It is the collaboration between companies, research and knowledge institutes and the government in Rotterdam that underpins many medical innovations that originate in this city and find their way to patients all over the world.

Innovation and progress go hand in hand and are only fuelled by Rotterdam’s typical ‘Make it Happen’ mentality. By not meeting endlessly but simply getting down to work, Rotterdam’s Life Sciences ecosystem ensures many medical advances.

Rotterdam is part of the Medical Delta, a medical-technological partnership between nine educational institutions, including Erasmus MC. The aim of the Medical Delta is to come up with innovative solutions for healthcare.

Someone who knows that cooperation is essential for success is Peter van der Spek, professor of Bioinformatics at Erasmus University Medical Centre. He explains why he could not have done his research on the contribution of the immune system and genomes on the function of vital organs and defence mechanisms in our body anywhere else but Rotterdam. “It is the integration of the research with the hospital that makes Erasmus a very unique place in the north of Europe.”