Aim of our research

Amsterdam UMC strives for A Healthy Future For All. Excellent research across the full spectrum of health and biomedical sciences is essential to achieving this goal. We broaden the fundamental knowledge of human health and disease and translate this into prevention strategies for public health and effective therapies and treatments for patients. Together with internal and external stakeholders we focus on quality and societal impact of our research.

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Research organization

With over 7,000 researchers, Amsterdam UMC is one of the most prominent research institutes in the Netherlands, as well as one of the largest academic hospitals. Today’s biomedical and health challenges require interdisciplinary research. Collaboration with our partner universities, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, enables us to foster and advance such interdisciplinary approaches.To further strengthen the collaboration and strategic positioning of Amsterdam UMC’s research, we have organized our research in a matrix of divisions (composed of departments) and research institutes.

Research institutes

Amsterdam UMC has organized its research in eight thematic research institutes. Our research institutes are networks of research groups working on specific research themes. The research institutes foster a vibrant academic culture by facilitating translational collaboration and supporting talented researchers through internal grants, as well as by bringing researchers together at seminars, retreats, masterclasses, and annual meetings. Several of the research institutes are joint institutes with research groups of other faculties of the University of Amsterdam and/or the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Research Board

The Amsterdam Research Board (ARB) represents the Amsterdam UMC research community and advices the Executive Board on research policy. The ARB consists of two research institute directors from each research institute as well as a number of independent researchers, selected due to their specific research-related function, and is chaired by the vice-dean of research.

• Executive Board: Board Amsterdam UMC
• Deans: Yvo Roos (Faculty of Medicine, UvA) & Saskia Peerdeman (Faculty of Medicine, VU)

• Vice-dean of research: Elga de Vries

Support for researchers

Research Support and services

Amsterdam UMC has a centralized support organization to create an environment in which researchers can excel, both by contributing to a stimulating context and by providing practical advice. Dedicated Research Support teams and services provide hands-on support to researchers, from the development of early ideas into fundable research proposals to the implementation of the results.

Research Roadmap

The Research Roadmap of Amsterdam UMC offers all researchers structured information on setting up, conducting and completing scientific research.The Research Roadmap clearly states the steps that need to be followed to carry out research in different settings (i.e., preclinical research, clinical trials, research involving human subjects).

Core Facilities

High quality Core Facilities are available for Amsterdam UMC researchers and external stakeholders, such as the CRISPR Center and iPSC services. Researchers benefit from access to advanced equipment and technologies, as well as the expertise and support of specialized technicians who assist with their use and experimental design.

Research quality

Research integrity

Amsterdam UMC takes measures to ensure openness, (social) safety, inclusivity and research integrity. The Executive Boards have appointed several independent confidential counselors who focus primarily on integrity issues with respect to scientific research and scientific publications. The ombudsman is responsible for the social safety policy and the complaints procedure.

Research Code

Amsterdam UMC aims to provide an academic culture in which researchers are stimulated and supported to perform research to the highest ethical standards. Elaborating on the European and the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, the Amsterdam UMC Research Code defines local guidelines and expectations that researchers and staff are expected to follow when conducting research at Amsterdam UMC.

Research evaluation

The quality, relevance and viability of research at Amsterdam UMC is assessed every six years, in accordance with the Strategy Evaluation Protocol of NWO, UNL and KNAW.The evaluations of all eight Amsterdam UMC research institutes were successfully completed in 2024.

Good Research Practice committee

The Good Research Practice (GRP) Committee promotes good conduct of medical scientific research involving human subjects. The committee advises and supports the Executive Board on clinical research policies in Amsterdam UMC.

Ethical review

Medical research involving human subjects, human material or laboratory animals has to be carried out according to national law and regulations. Within Amsterdam UMC, dedicated ethical committees review research protocols to ensure human and animal safety, and research quality.

Research policy

Talent policy

Amsterdam UMC supports the scientific careers of talented researchers through several talent policies and services. Early to mid-career researchers benefit from career instruments and grants, including the Principal Investigator system, Postdoc Portal, Amsterdam UMC Fellowship, Tenure Track, several incentive arrangements (link accessible only to internal researchers), as well as internal grants supported centrally and by the research institutes.

Dedicated Research Support teams help to stimulate, retain or attract researchers at mid- and high-career level to obtain prestigious (inter-)national and EU research grants. Amsterdam UMC welcomes numerous laureates of prestigious (inter)national grants every year, highlighting our leading role in research.

Amsterdam UMC fosters the career development of researchers. Our Committee for Talent and Appointments strives for transparent and fair appointment procedures of (Associate) Professors, for talents who wish to make career steps within Amsterdam UMC as well as from outside of Amsterdam UMC. These talent policies are in line with the national Recognition & Rewards programme.

Sustainable research

Amsterdam UMC is committed to advancing sustainable healthcare by integrating sustainability into all its core tasks, including research. Guided by our strategy, ‘A healthy future for all’, we recognize the urgent need to address climate change and environmental challenges. Therefore, we aim to become an international forerunner in developing the knowledge needed to enable the sustainability transition in healthcare.

Open Science

At Amsterdam UMC, we are committed to conducting research in a transparent and collaborative manner, embracing the principles of Open Science. We have Open Science policies and support in place for various aspects of open science, including data reuse for future research in a Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) way and patient involvement in research.

Diversity & Inclusion

The mission of Amsterdam UMC 'Together we discover the healthcare of tomorrow' expresses our vision of being an inclusive and representative organization. In a safe and welcoming environment, staff thrive and contribute to excellent team science. We have policies to promote gender balance and encourage diversity across all under-represented groups.