Dick Heederik appointed by minister as chairman of Lexces; stops therefore as vice-dean research
This afternoon, Dick Heederik was appointed by Minister Van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment, as Chairman of the Board of Lexces, the National Expertise Centre for Substance-related Occupational Diseases that will open on 1 July 2022. An honorable role that Heederik is happy to take on. The news was announced at a press conference this afternoon. Heederik will remain associated with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, although he will have to let go of some duties.
"This is an incredibly rewarding role in which I can combine my former area of research with my administrative experience. It means that I will stop with my current role as vice-dean of research in the administration of our faculty, but of course I will stay on until the succession procedure is completed and my successor can take over things properly. We have made many changes with the Research Council in recent years, the research groups have grown in size, research evaluation has been revamped, and a new vision and culture has been helped to emerge. I leave it with great confidence."
In his new role, Heederik is in a sense returning to his former expertise: the research area of 'Occupational Diseases' with topics such as Chromium 6 and Asbestos. A subject for which he has continued to do diverse committee work all along, in addition to his current work for Infectious Diseases and the Netherlands Centre for One Health. The Lexces is a collaboration of five institutes: Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS, Utrecht University), Netherlands Knowledge Centre for Work and Lung Diseases (NKAL, Utrecht), Polyclinic for Man and Work (PMA, Amsterdam UMC), Netherlands Centre for Occupational Diseases (NCvB, Amsterdam UMC) and the RIVM. They work together to gather and develop knowledge and expertise in the field of hazardous substances and health risks for workers.
Every year, around 3,000 people die because they were exposed to hazardous substances during their work. Even more workers become ill as a result. Professionals in the field of working conditions need knowledge that will help prevent occupational diseases in practice. Lexces can contribute to this by sharing this knowledge widely. The Lexces also plays a role in the Regulation on the Contribution towards Substance-related Occupational Diseases (TSB). This regulation will take effect on 1 January 2023.