Stan van de Graaf made his entry at the Amsterdam UMC in 2013. Having organized the predecessor of the current AGEM retreat several times, he realized that he has a strong interest in bringing people together and stimulating interaction. This meant that he could not be more enthusiastic to take these networking skills to the next level and become one of the AGEM directors in 2017! In the past seven years, he has seen the research institute (and himself!) develop in many ways, some more unexpected than others.
Looking back
The start of AGEM and his directorship
The two engines behind the creation of AGEM were Gijs van de Brink and Gerd Bouma, a process that already started in 2015. “It was Gijs who approached me and said that I might be the right person for the job of co-director. I already knew I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of connecting people, especially the younger generation. On top of that, my own research topic (focusing on bile salt transport/signaling) lends itself to be a connecting theme between AGEM research programs, which helped me to understand the value of the research institute”, Stan explains.
AGEM 2017-2023
“First on the agenda was making people feel welcome in the research institute, trying to make people feel part of the institute and, hopefully, enthusing people”, Stan recaps. The intention was to create a networking institute with a bottom up approach, by mainly approaching and connecting the younger generation, for example with the yearly retreat.
In the years that followed, the focus and the impact of the AGEM research institute changed in a positive way. AGEM has obtained a more facilitating role with an increased practical use for the researchers. This coincided with a more strategic outlook on the daily affairs, and a subtle way of steering the research institute and its members into a fruitful future. “This process had to go hand in hand with a more top-down approach, in which also the more established generation of scientists is clearly included”, Stan emphasizes, “the current Food for Life initiative which involves the whole Amsterdam UMC, but with a leading role of AGEM, fits into this development.”
Furthermore, the institute professionalized and became less vulnerable. An extra policy officer was hired, Maartje Schots, who is now succeeded by Esther de Regt, more responsibilities were given to the AGEM Research Board members, and of course Ric van Tol was hired as Impact officer/Business developer. “On top of that”, Stan mentions, “the AGEM staff has collected an immense amount of experience, meaning every year they know how to do things even better than the year before.” Add to that the increasingly stronger collaboration with other research institutes, such as AII, CCA and ACS, and the result is a recipe for success.
I would say the only regret of my time as an AGEM director is never having realized the work trip to Ibiza…
Stan 2017-2023
Prof. van de Graaf has also seen himself evolve while in the role of co-director. “I can say I have definitely developed a more strategic mindset”, Stan reveals, “and I have gained more insight how the wheels of the organization are turning and where the nudging takes place”. Moreover, the research world is a competitive environment, and this usually results people being involved mainly in the achievements within their own research group. “Nowadays, I can enjoy other people’s successes way more“, Stan adds with a smile.
Highs and lows
For Stan, the AGEM retreat is something to look forward to every year. It is an effective networking event with a bottom up approach. “One of my best AGEM memories was of the 2018 retreat where there were two PhD candidates on stage with a saxophone, another candidate as the DJ, and everyone was mingling. You could almost feel the moment new connections were being made”, Stan recounts. Another constant highlight Stan mentions is to be a driving force in talent development. AGEM can offer this via, among other things, financial aid, mentoring or offering opportunities to publicly show research at congresses. “Lastly, the positive outcome of the 2022 SEP was truly the cherry on top of my AGEM directorship!”, Stan says proudly.
The positive outcome of the 2022 SEP was truly the cherry on top of my AGEM directorship
“A clear low for me is the COVID-19 pandemic, needless to say that such a thing can be quite detrimental to a networking institute. In addition, saying goodbye to great colleagues is always a loss, although we continuously managed to replace them for equally great people. But maybe the biggest regret of my time as an AGEM director, was that we never ended the year with enough funds leftover to organize a team building trip to Ibiza!” Stan laughs.
Looking ahead
Expectations for AGEM
Stan is excited to hand over control to Anita and Nanne, as he feels fresh winds will do the research institute some good. Also, with Nanne de Boer as his successor, the clinical perspective has come back in the directory, which willnicely complement the expertise of Anita In the future, he sees more focus on themes such as AGEM Food for Life [link] that are able to bridge the gaps between the three research programs. An even bigger and more important role for Ric van Tol, to create more awareness of the vastness of opportunities with external (public-private) partnerships out there. “Lastly, the scientific and societal relevance of the research within AGEM is obvious internally, now it is up all of us at AGEM to make sure also the rest of the world knows about this”, Stan declares.
What is Stan going to focus on now?
We do not have to be worried that Stan might start getting bored anytime soon. He is still the head of the Tytgat institute and has a vibrant research group. The freed up time means he can finally pay some more attention to these researchers, he has more time to apply for grants and more possibilities to start new investigations. “And it is great to see some free space in my calendar again”, Stan jokes, “although that might be filling itself up quicker than I would like it to.”
It is great to see some free space in my calendar again
Final remarks
“Anita, I would like to thank you very much for the amazing teamwork. We complemented each other well, but, at the same time, we were clearly on the same page and we had a similar vision for the institute.”
“We could not have come as far as we have, without the constant support and woman-power of Eva Dirkx-Beuling. She has been working to set up AGEM since 2015, even before I started! Thank you very much for all your hard work and the pleasant teamwork.”
“Nanne, a lot might come your way the first couple of months, but you are in good hands. I am confident you will identify opportunities quickly and take action accordingly. Lastly: don’t forget to have fun!”