Environment

The research group RB&AB is an integrated part of the Swammerdam Institute for life Sciences (SILS) at the Faculty of Science (FNWI) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA).

The University of Amsterdam (UvA)

With over 30,000 students and a budget of 850 million Euro, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is one of the leading institutions for higher education in Europe. The UvA participates in the international science network, collaborating with major universities throughout the world. There are seven faculties, covering humanities, social science, law, economics, medicine, dentistry and sciences.

The Faculty of Science (FNWI)

Today, the Faculty of Science (FNWI) is a leading center of academic research and education with a broad range of strong research groups. The research and educational activities are organized in one comprehensive faculty. This is motivated by developments in both science and society, with new challenges often found in the overlap of several disciplines. It has led to a policy in which the faculty is setting up new research institutes across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The FNWI consists of four departments, with 1,200 employees including researchers and lecturers, 150 full- and part-time professors operating in eleven research institutes. Each institute has its own research program that is financed by the faculty, the national research council NWO, the government, EU departments and private enterprises. Since September 2010, the whole faculty is housed in a brand new building at the Science Park in Amsterdam, which made the Science Park one of the largest centers of academic research in the Netherlands.

The Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS)

Scientists in the field of life sciences make use of knowledge from all areas of science: medicine, biology, (bio)chemistry, physics, mathematics and information technology. In view of the great importance of life sciences and the rapid developments it is undergoing, the University of Amsterdam has bundled its life-science research in a special organization: the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences. This institute's mission is: 'Understanding the Fundamentals of Life, at the Molecular and Cellular Level, for Food and Health'. The Swammerdam Institute employs about 250 scientists in 14 research groups. On average, annually about 15 PhD graduations take place and 150 scientific publications plus patent applications are produced.

The Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences focuses its research on four research themes: 'Cell &Systems Biology', 'Green Life Sciences', 'Microbiology', and "Neurosciences" plus the 'Underpinning Technologies'. Within these research themes a number of different organisms, from microorganism to animal and from plant to man are studied. Although diverse in interest and topic, there are many interfaces between the different themes: overlaps in approaches, used technologies, studied problems or similarities in basic molecular or cellular phenomena. The sharing of expertise, combined with joint technology development in genomics and advanced microscopy, allows the Swammerdam Institute to push forward towards excellence in research and to develop breakthrough innovations. Important and unique discoveries are made, also via interaction with strategic research partners that serve to unlock the secrets of life itself and lead to applications that improve the quality of life. When appropriate, the Swammerdam Institute stimulates the founding and development of spin-off companies required for these applications. Innovations and commercialization of research results are recognized as being increasingly important for society to benefit from life-science research and technology.

Other important alliances

Outside the FNWI, RB&AB closely collaborates/collaborated with "The RIVM", "The group of prof. Dr. Herman Spaink (Leiden University)", "The Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS-LU)", several AMC research groups, "The Top Institute Green Genetics (TTI-GG)", "Topsector Tuinbouw & Uitgangsmaterialen (TKI-U)", "Virtual Lab for Plant Breeding (VLPB), "The Netherlands e-Science Center (NLeSC)", "Naktuinbouw", "De Unie van Waterschappen", "STOWA", "Meijer Potato BV", "Artis", "Blijdorp", Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam", "NVWA", as well as many other academic and industrial research groups.