Celebrating the Retirement of MERLN’s Founder, Clemens van Blitterswijk

This September, MERLN will celebrate the emeritus of and the founder of the MERLN Institute, an inspiringscientist and entrepreneur: Clemens van Blitterswijk.

Clemens is one of the leading scientist in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering. He began his career in Leiden, where he studied cell biology. After becoming a professor at the University of Twente, he moved to Maastricht in 2014, where he established the MERLN Institute at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences of Maastricht University.

Throughout his remarkable career, Clemens has contributed to more than 500 scientific publications, holds over 100 patents, and has founded multiple companies and spin-offs, including IsoTis Orthobiologics the first European Tissue Engineering company. Clemens is an out-of-the-box thinker, always eager to learn new topics and hear new ideas. His innovative way of thinking and entrepreneurial spirit are still very much visible within MERLN today, with the creation of 3 new spin-off companies, Mosa Matrix, VitelleX, and ReGEN Biomedical.

Photography by Carlos Peniche