Distinguished university professors
In recent years the special position of distinguished university professor has been introduced at a number of Dutch universities. Distinguished university professors have high academic stature, standing for innovative education and research. They therefore enjoy a number of privileges, such as partial exemption from administrative tasks and greater freedom in spending research funds. Their role is to provide impetus for scientific developments that cross the borders of traditional disciplines, and to play a leading part in academic and social debates.
Ron Heeren
Professor Ron M.A. Heeren is one of the pioneers of mass spectrometry-based spatial omics. After obtaining his PhD in Engineering Physics in 1992, he joined FOM-AMOLF in Amsterdam as a group leader, where he focused on the development of instrumentation for molecular imaging and its applications. He was Professor in the Faculty of Chemistry at Utrecht University from 2001 to 2019. He is the founder and Scientific Director of M4I – the Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute at the Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus.
In recognition of his scientific achievements, he received the NWO Physics Valorisation Prize in 2019, the Thomson Medal of the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation (IMSF) in 2020, and the Karger Medal of the Barnett Institute in 2026. He was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in 2021, became a Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering in 2025, and was elected a member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, the oldest scientific society in the Netherlands, in 2026.
Professor Heeren currently serves as President of the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation (IMSF). He was appointed a Hans Fischer Senior Fellow at the Technical University of Munich from 2019 to 2023 and, in 2024, was named a TUM Ambassador in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements and contributions to international collaboration.
His research focuses on translational mass spectrometry research, molecular imaging within the omics sciences, high-throughput bioinformatics, and the development and validation of innovative mass spectrometry-based molecular imaging technologies for applications across a wide range of scientific disciplines.
Clemens van Blitterswijk
Professor Van Blitterswijk specialises in bone and cartilage repair, with a particular focus on developing new technologies for regenerative medicine. These include “smart" biomaterials that lead to tissue regeneration through the patient’s own stem cells. He will be operating within the new MERLN Institute.
A member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Van Blitterswijk was recently named the most entrepreneurial scientist in the Netherlands. Besides research he will also be involved in teaching; he is the editor of a popular textbook, Tissue engineering, re-released in a revised edition by Academic Press in 2014.
For more information, please visit the MERLN Institute website.
Michel Dumontier
Professor Michel Dumontier is Distinguished Professor at Maastricht University. He is internationally recognised for his research in artificial intelligence, data science and digital health. As co-founder of the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) Guiding Principles, he has helped transform the way scientific data are shared and reused worldwide.
Through his chair, Dumontier aims to accelerate the development of trustworthy intelligent systems that improve health and society. His research brings together data, knowledge and artificial intelligence to advance scientific discovery, support better healthcare and enable more informed decision-making. He works closely with researchers, healthcare organisations, governments and industry to ensure that AI is developed and applied responsibly.
At Maastricht University, Dumontier strengthens collaboration across disciplines and is helping build an internationally leading ecosystem for AI and health. In doing so, he contributes to the university's ambition to develop intelligent systems that address societal challenges and create lasting impact.
Emeritus distinguished university professors
Peter Peters
Prof. dr. Peter Peters is UM’s first distinguished university professor.
Peters was, until his retirement, actively involved in research on the immune system at the nanomolecular level. At Maastricht University, he established the Institute of Nanoscopy with the aim of advancing understanding of the development of various forms of cancer and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.
Following the completion of his PhD at Utrecht University, Peters spent many years conducting fundamental research into the functioning of cells at the nanoscale, first in the United States and subsequently for fifteen years at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (Antoni van Leeuwenhoek) in Amsterdam.
Peters served as Co-Director of the Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4I) alongside Professor Ron Heeren. He retired with emeritus status in August 2024.
