Louis Bont appointed new Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences

Louis Bont is an immunologist and a specialist in paediatric infectious diseases. Since 2021, he has served as a medical scientific manager for the Children's Division at the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, part of UMC Utrecht.

He also leads an internationally renowned research group in the field of respiratory tract infections and is the founder of the global ReSViNET network, which brings together international experts and parents of children who have suffered a severe RS virus infection. ‘After having had the privilege of working in paediatrics for many wonderful years, it is a privilege to be able to take on a new and exciting challenge,’ said Bont in an Intranet post. 

‘As a doctor, researcher and administrator, I enjoy working on issues that matter to society,’ Bont says on the Intranet. 'As a physician, researcher, and administrator, I enjoy working on issues that matter to society. It is my mission to strategically connect research, education, healthcare, and valorisation — and I want to use my experience and international profile to strengthen UMC Utrecht nationally and internationally. I realise that I have big shoes to fill. During his long career at UMC Utrecht, Arno Hoes has guided our education and research with vision and dedication. I look forward to building on this solid foundation to shape the healthcare of tomorrow.'

The chair of the Supervisory Board, Henk Broeders, says of Bont's appointment: ‘Louis is an enthusiastic paediatrician with impressive experience in both national and international research, including the associated financing and valorisation. For example, the immunisation of babies against the RS virus, his life's work, has been included in the national vaccination programme.'

Louis Bont (1970) completed his studies as a paediatrician in 2005 and as a paediatric infectious disease specialist and immunologist in 2008. In 2015, he became a professor of Paediatric Respiratory Infections.