Dutch Ambassador to the UK visits Norwich Research Park
On Friday 14 March, as part
of a two-day visit to the East of England organised by Andrew Wood, Hon Dutch
Consul for East Anglia with support from Norfolk County Council’s Inward Investment
Team, Dutch Ambassador to the UK, Paul Huijts, visited scientists at some of
the world-leading research institutes at Norwich Research Park.
After a networking lunch at
which Nick Talbot, Executive Director and Group Leader of The Sainsbury
Laboratory, provided the Ambassador with an overview of the park campus, Mr
Huijts met with scientists at the leading edge of research into the role of the
gut microbiome in pregnancy, decreasing the risk of urinary tract infections in
Type 2 Diabetes patients and heart disease and bioactive compounds.
At the Quadram Institute, he
was given a tour of the Clinical Research Facility with PhD student and
principal investigator for the TESSA study, Julia Haarhuis. She outlined her
research into preventing heart disease using bioactive compounds from a
pomegranate extract.
Clinicians from the Norfolk
and Norwich University Hospital with scientists from the Quadram Institute talked
the Ambassador through their collaborative research funded by the Quadram
Institute Clinical Seedcorn Fund. Associate medical director for research,
Professor Jon Lartey, and Dr Antonietta Hayhoe, head of human studies,
explained their research on the role of the gut microbiome in pregnancy.
Prof Alison Mather,
postdoctoral researcher Dr Samuel Bloomfield and consultant endocrinologist Dr
Jason Cheung outlined their work on decreasing the risk of urinary tract
infections in Type 2 diabetes patients.
Mr Huijts was also told
about research being carried out by the University of East Anglia into how AI
can be used to evaluate whether EU regulations actually support its citizens
and the potential threats posed by technological developments in non-democratic
states. AI4POL will bring together researchers from the fields of technology
development, ethics, law, economics and political sciences, and partners
include Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
Mr Huijts said: “It was a
great two-day visit to Suffolk and Norfolk. East Anglia and the Dutch have many
historical connections and those ties resonate today. From the connection of
Norwich Airport with Schiphol to shared expertise and collaboration in domains
as agriculture and health.”
The Netherlands is the
biggest trading partner to Norfolk and Suffolk, and it is hoped the
Ambassador’s extensive visit will strengthen direct links to Dutch investment
teams and encourage partnership working following devolution with a focus on
the areas covered in the visit.