Fundamental Life Sciences: pushing the boundary of the known

It is hard to fit the breadth of life sciences research in Utrecht under one umbrella. The wide scope of research ranges from clinical studies of human disease to fundamental plant research. “Despite this, it makes a lot of sense to cluster the life sciences”, says Corné Pieterse, newly appointed chair of the fundamental Science for Life domain in the life sciences strategic theme at Utrecht University. “One thing we all have in common is that we study living systems. Be it plant, microbe, animal or human, we can all learn from each other’s research”.

In the public eye, life sciences research is often seen as either very medically focused or rather more nature focused. While the more visible aspects of science such as developing vaccines and securing food production give a sense of direction, the fundamental research that often supports these endeavors receives less attention.

“Visibility of the fundamental sciences is not only an issue in the public eye, it also plays at the local level,” says Pieterse, who recalls the start of the Life Sciences strategic theme: “There was a lot of emphasis on human disease and societal relevance. The outward facing research received most of the attention. This is not the entire face of Utrecht Life Sciences however, where we are especially strong at the more fundamental sciences”.

Science for Life started as an initiative from the life sciences departments at the science faculty (Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research, Institute of Environmental Biology and Institute of Biodynamics and Biocomplexity) to increase the visibility of fundamental research on the campus. “We had all these amazing technologies such as NMR, advanced imaging and the like, building a strong scientific reputation. We had Spinoza prize winners, ERC advanced grants all coming our way, all at Life Sciences institutions. These accomplishments were sometimes overlooked” says Pieterse. The group started organizing fundamental research under the name ‘Science for Life’. Things really got moving when the first edition of the Science for Life conference attracted nearly 500 researchers. “That got us noticed: it turned out that fundamental research across campus was eager to get organized” recalls Pieterse. By the time the strategic theme started out, we were already joined by the UMC Utrecht, the Hubrecht Institute, the Princess Máxima Center and the faculty of veterinary science. Using this strong voice, we became part of the foundation for the strategic theme. Fundamental science is here to stay, we represent a large number of researchers on campus.

“Curing cancer resonates better with the general public than discovering new things that may or may not lead to innovations that are relevant on the long term”

As the universitiy's position in society changes, the more outward facing aspects of university, where connections with societal stakeholders are made, often seems to be at the other end of a spectrum with more fundamental research. “This is a false dichotomy” says Pieterse, it just requires better explanation. “Curing cancer resonates better with the general public than discovering new things that may or may not lead to innovations that are relevant on the long term” he says. Nonetheless fundamental innovations have great impact. “The four Life Sciences hubs are all about societal relevance and connecting research on societally relevant themes” says Pieterse. “It is important not to forget another core task of the university: to study the unknown”. Ironically, we cannot always know what is unknown and too much planning ahead for societal impact may hamper fundamental research. “Great advances in sciences came about by ‘tinkering around’, we need to give our young researchers room for this”. As a longtime member of the board of studies at the graduate school of life sciences, Pieterse contributes to educating the next generation of researchers about the importance of fundamental research. As a plant researcher he tells students that life sciences is not just about human betterment: “We have to eat something, and virtually all of it is directly or indirectly plant based” he quips. He continues on a more serious note: “In most funding applications, societal relevance has become more and more central. While it is of course good to consider this, especially for young researchers, it can also limit applicants in the questions they [dare] ask. Science for Life advocates the separation of societal and scoring criteria for funding.

Without fundamental discoveries, there can be no societal translation of research

An example close to home for Pieterse is his own research: “I study the plant microbiome and how that impacts plant immunity. While this research may not be at the core of Utrecht Life Sciences, it is part of the entire breadth of life sciences research, from microorganism to plant to animal to human. A worldwide trend in my area of research is the ‘host microbiome’. Popular journals all carry articles on microbiomes, be it human, animal or plant. Lessons we learn in plants can be translated to humans and vice versa. The fundamental sciences show that the microbiome contributes immensely to important biological processes of the host”. Over the past five years, Pieterse's group has studied the microbiome and attracted major gravitation funding for this research.  “In Utrecht we are very good at studying the fundamental questions that help to unravel the functions of microorganisms in relation to the functioning of a multicellular organism” he explains. “We are working at the boundaries of what is known, figuring out how things work exactly”. Finding these foundations can lead to very practical translations to human aspects. “We already discovered very interesting fundamental processes, such as how plants are able to recruit beneficial microorganisms from the soil that stimulate the plant immune system and therewith help the plant to fight infections.  There are interesting parallels in fundamental processes between plant and human microbiomes. While the molecules we as humans secrete to recruit microbial help may be different from those secreted by plants, these ‘information molecules’ serve a similar purpose in important life-supportive functions, such as immunity and nutrient uptake. Analytical techniques we perfect for plants and microbes can be used for human research too. One such technique, called metagenomics, is one of those areas of fundamental science we excel at in Utrecht. Bas Duthil, a bioinformatician who works on microbiomes but is first and foremost an expert in the field of metagenomics: sequencing entire microbial communities and unraveling their dynamics. Bas takes this art to the next level, by unraveling microbial community structure and function and fluctuations over time. He is currently studying bacteriophages, a kind of virus that infects and kills bacteria. As such phages play an important role in the assembly of microbiomes in environments and in multicellular hosts. His research is highly relevant since these types of viruses occur everywhere and the ability to accurately identify and monitor them has myriad applications. “Bas is one of those people who is completely fascinated by metagenomics and the part viruses play in it”. A healthy fascination that may lead to very relevant discoveries. “This research is unique and a great calling card for S4L” concludes Pieterse.

Nowadays, there is a good central organization of research that allows for inter- trans- or cross disciplinary collaboration. That is one of the strengths of Utrecht University

Before there were strategic themes, there were ‘focus programmes’ which gave researchers the possibility to identify subjects with sufficient mass within the university to collaborate on and create visibility.  This was a first step towards societal translation: to show what you do, why you do it. That ultimately led to the Life Sciences hubs and laid the ground work for the strategic theme. “Ten years ago we had a lot of excellent research, but research groups were often like small islands. I am happy the university shook things up a little” says Pieterse. “As long as we don’t forget that fundamental science is very important” he hastens to add. “Off course we want to tell society what’s in it for them. Still it is sometimes hard to explain the immediate importance of a fundamental discovery.

Pieterse is a true ambassador for fundamental science. “Wherever I have influence, I underscore the importance of fundamental science. In some cases it just needs to be made more explicit. For example: the first version of the UU strategic plan did not refer to fundamental science anywhere. “This was not intentional, but someone does need to remind the planners about fundamental science. As chair for the Science for Life domain, I will regularly meet with internal stakeholders and represent their interests in the life sciences programme board”. To keep the local Science for Life community engaged, we intend to organize ‘science cafés, where we hope to strengthen the bond between [fundamental] scientists in the way we do at the yearly science for life conference. “The first science café was planned in march 2020, we already had plans for a whole series, with one principal investigator and one junior scientist in each session. Unfortunately, the pandemic made physical meetings impossible. We are now planning to go ahead with the series in an online fashion”. These kinds of meetings are very important, especially for young faculty members. “Networking within the Science for Life community can help build careers. Researchers coach each other. I see it as my task to build on that sense of community to stimulate excellent science and collaboration” says Pieterse.

Sharing Science, Shaping tomorrow

The life sciences community is shaped by sharing. “Not only do we exchange ideas and research focus, we also quite literally share technologies and facilities” shares Pieterse. Technological platforms such as (electron) microscopy, the NMR facility and other facilities on campus are used most efficiently when they are shared. “With million-euro equipment, idle time is a waste of resources” says Pieterse. The new cryoEM microscope, yet to be acquired for life sciences research, is a good example of collaborative science. The sharing of facilities does not stop at the science for life community, most facilities are shared across the Utrecht Science Park and even beyond. (See:  USP booster programme). Other great examples of shared fundamental life sciences research are found at the bioinformatics center. A true connector on campus with activities focused at Hubrecht, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Princess Máxima Center and the faculty of science. “Bioinformatics is in essence fundamental biology data instead of living material. Models which can predict and then be verified in ‘real’ biology.  This is truly something that is well developed on our campus, something we can be proud of” says Pieterse.  This research excellence reflects to the Princess Maxima Center and the Hubrecht Institute, much of the research there could not exist without top level bioinformatics. In turn, the single-cell sequencing facility at Hubrecht is another promising connecter that will create large visibility for fundamental science at Utrecht Science Park.

The connectedness of the fundamental sciences also help to attract talent to the strategic theme. “Recently we had two professor positions at the Biology department, one in plant science and the other in epigenetics. In both cases, the candidates were drawn towards the excellent connections that exist at Utrecht Science Park” says Pieterse. “There is a visible network of technologies and expertise at the highest level, with a shared mindset of academic discovery”. The energy of shared discovery truly brings excellent talent to Utrecht.