That’s when the researcher in me starts finding it interesting

"My research involves looking for active ingredients in medicinal plants. You come across molecules with the most amazing structures. To reproduce them, you really need to be a top chemist! Unfortunately, hardly anybody else in the Dutch academic world shares our interest in this kind of applied research into medicinal plants. It was an ongoing struggle to get funding for our study. That’s why I set up PhytoGeniX with a colleague, Dr Bert van den Berg. Within the company, we use methods that we’ve developed at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. We look for potential medicines and conduct research for other people. We don’t just pick random plants to study – that would be highly inefficient. Instead, we consult researchers who are experts in specific medical traditions, such as Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine. We are currently building up a network in Latin America. That involves quite a lot of work and coordination. For example, we’ve given workshops at the university in Chile to provide insight into how we work, and what we’re doing. I’m learning Spanish at the moment.

I was rather hesitant when we first set up the company, because it was quite a financial risk to be taking on. I looked around me and wondered what things I was willing to lose. Was I prepared to give up my house and go back to renting a small flat again? Fortunately, the company is a success. We now employ six researchers, which means we’re doing more research in the field than I could have done purely within the academic sphere. But I doubt whether I could ever be just a businessman. In business terms, bad results mean you have to stop the experiments. But that’s actually when the researcher in me starts finding it interesting – I want to know why!"