“What role will I play in the further integration of the MUMC+ and the faculty? I’ve made an analysis for myself of important issues to address. In addition to an integral responsibility for the faculty, within the board of Maastricht UMC+ I will focus specifically on research integration and internationalisation. There is still room for improvement in the design and propagation of the themes that connect and transcend the individual research schools and institutes. For example, when it comes to the topic lifestyle and living environment, Maastricht has a distinctive national profile that can give us even more of a unique identity of our own—not from the standpoint of an individual researcher or a single research institute, but by joining forces. That is why we don’t want to link the Schools with the new healthcare centres on a one-to-one basis. The GROW research school, to give just one example, offers something not only for the Oncology Centre but also for other centres. And oncological research is also done within NUTRIM. In other words, there are many more connections that can be established between the research institutes themselves and also with the healthcare centres. They don’t connect on a one-to-one basis, and you wouldn’t want that either.”

Connection
“I also see a role for myself in further promoting what distinguishes our faculty from other UMCs. FHML doesn’t only stand for medicine, but also for health and life sciences. And then we also have the advantage that we already have good collaborations with the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience and there are already several areas in which we connect with the young Faculty of Science and Engineering. Here at the Health campus in Randwyck we can easily drop by each other’s offices. We’re going to take advantage of that even more.”

Schols wants to highlight more the opportunities that already exist. The hospital and faculty have a lot to offer each other, she believes. From that perspective, she wants to develop an internationally distinct academic profile and to spread the word about it. For almost fifteen years, she has been the scientific director of NUTRIM. Moreover, she can draw on a wealth of knowledge of and experience with the entire Maastricht medical landscape. Thanks to her long career working in various positions, she knows the organisation of the Maastricht UMC+ from the inside out. Moreover, she doesn’t shy away from drawing on her personal experiences. “I think that’s part of leadership. It helps if you can reflect on things from your own experiences. If it’s of added value, I will definitely make use of my own experiences.”

Management style
Speaking of leadership, what style of leadership does the new dean have? Schols thinks back on the past to arrive at an answer: “My chair in 2004 was titled ‘In motion through connection’. Multidisciplinary collaboration was and is my credo; it always was within NUTRIM, and it will be for my role as dean. This suits me as a scientist, but it also suits my leadership style. Getting professionals/experts involved in time, considering options, making choices and then actively implementing those choices. Clear communication and being consistent as well as staying in conversation with one another from the different perspectives.”

“Of course, it’s my responsibility as a dean that processes run smoothly. But to an important extent, that means delegating and making sure that the right people are in the right place. Above all, it means letting people do what they’re good at and what they enjoy.”

New unit
Schols wants to invest heavily in the further integration of clinical and scientific research. As director of NUTRIM, she is delighted to be able to announce that a brand new Clinical Research Unit (CRU) is coming in 2020. The CRU is the result of exemplary collaboration between various clinical departments within NUTRIM. It involves the renovation and equipping of patient-related research facilities within the hospital walls, the so-called Y-factors. The demolition of the current facilities, which are obsolete, will start in June, and the new CRU will be ready at the end of the year; that’s the plan. This renovation is fairly symbolic of her vision of the upcoming deanship. The Y-factors on level 2, which are centrally located within the hospital, have until now mainly consisted of separate spaces, ‘boxes’, for the various medical disciplines. Schols explains why it was time for a renovation: “We wanted to literally and figuratively break down the walls and create the opportunity for more connection and collaboration. The available diagnostics can provide important additional information for many patients and help healthcare providers in the selection and evaluation of tailor-made treatments. The CRU will soon be an open facility, not only for NUTRIM researchers, but for the entire hospital.”

The PROOF project
“The hospital will bear the costs of the renovation, about two million euros. We’ve obtained a European grant for the purchase of the necessary equipment, supported by the Province of Limburg and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. This grant is in connection with the PROOF project, which aims to develop nutritional solutions for vulnerable groups and patients. The partners within PROOF—scientists, healthcare providers, patients and the business community—have chosen two themes that are of great interest in the current corona crisis: 1. disruptions in metabolism and taste profiles due to pulmonary disease and 2. loss and delayed recovery of muscle mass in the elderly and chronically ill.”

Innovation platform
The European (Interreg) grant is initially intended for state-of-the-art equipment at the research facility once an extensive renovation has taken place. The unit is outdated in its current form and no longer meets the requirements of patient-friendliness. In concrete terms, an innovation platform will be set up after the renovation for more invasive diagnostic procedures, such as tissue sampling and the administration of so-called stable isotopes through an infusion to gain insights into disrupted metabolic processes in patients. There will be examination rooms for testing and guidance of tailored physical activity, and several rooms in which researchers can use their own, mobile research equipment. In addition, the new research facility will make use of a new type of respiration chamber developed by Maastricht Instruments, for clinical research purposes.

The PROOF project is a public-private partnership between Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht University, the Brightlands campus in Venlo, the agrifood business in Venlo, and partners from West Flanders, such as research institutes, development companies and the frozen food industry from the region. The European Interreg grant for the project totals 4.3 million euros, of which 1.5 million euros will be used in Maastricht.