Hans Clevers

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Dutch molecular genetics and stem cell researcher

title: "Hans Clevers" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1957-births", "living-people", "dutch-geneticists", "dutch-immunologists", "fellows-of-the-aacr-academy", "fellows-of-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences", "foreign-associates-of-the-national-academy-of-sciences", "foreign-members-of-the-royal-society", "honorary-fellows-of-the-royal-society-of-edinburgh", "knights-commander-of-the-order-of-merit-of-the-federal-republic-of-germany", "knights-of-the-order-of-the-netherlands-lion", "members-of-academia-europaea", "members-of-the-european-molecular-biology-organization", "members-of-the-french-academy-of-sciences", "members-of-the-royal-netherlands-academy-of-arts-and-sciences", "recipients-of-the-pour-le-mérite-(civil-class)", "people-from-eindhoven", "spinoza-prize-winners", "stem-cell-researchers", "utrecht-university-alumni", "academic-staff-of-utrecht-university", "winners-of-the-heineken-prize", "recipients-of-the-legion-of-honour", "members-of-the-koninklijke-hollandsche-maatschappij-der-wetenschappen"] description: "Dutch molecular genetics and stem cell researcher" topic_path: "science/biology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Clevers" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Dutch molecular genetics and stem cell researcher ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox scientist"]

FieldValue
nameHans Clevers
imageHans Clevers (2018).jpg
captionClevers in 2018
birth_nameJohannes Carolus Clevers
birth_date
birth_placeEindhoven, Netherlands
nationalityDutch
fieldsMolecular genetics
Cell biology
workplacesRoche

University Medical Center Utrecht Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research Utrecht University Dana–Farber Cancer Institute | | alma_mater | Utrecht University | | thesis_title | Early events in lymphocyte activation | | thesis_url | https://utrechtuniversity.on.worldcat.org/oclc/63836041 | | thesis_year | 1985 | | doctoral_advisor | Rudy Ballieux | | known_for | Organoid generation and application | | awards | Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Dr A. H. Heineken Prize for Medicine Körber European Science Prize | | spouse | Eefke Petersen | | children | 2 | ::

| honorific_prefix = | name = Hans Clevers | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Hans Clevers (2018).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Clevers in 2018 | birth_name = Johannes Carolus Clevers | birth_date = | birth_place = Eindhoven, Netherlands | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | other_names = | residence = | citizenship = | nationality = Dutch | fields = Molecular genetics Cell biology | workplaces = Roche

University Medical Center Utrecht Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research Utrecht University Dana–Farber Cancer Institute | education = | alma_mater = Utrecht University | thesis_title = Early events in lymphocyte activation | thesis_url = https://utrechtuniversity.on.worldcat.org/oclc/63836041 | thesis_year = 1985 | doctoral_advisor = Rudy Ballieux | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = Organoid generation and application | influences = | influenced = | awards = Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Dr A. H. Heineken Prize for Medicine Körber European Science Prize | spouse = Eefke Petersen | children = 2 | signature = | signature_alt =

Johannes (Hans) Carolus Clevers (born 27 March 1957) is a Dutch molecular geneticist, cell biologist and stem cell researcher. He became the Head of Pharma, Research and Early Development, and a member of the Corporate Executive Committee, of the Swiss healthcare company Roche in 2022. Previously, he headed a research group at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research and at the ; he remained as an advisor and guest scientist or visiting researcher to both groups. He is also a Professor in Molecular Genetics at Utrecht University.

Early life and education

Hans Clevers was born in Eindhoven, the Netherlands in 1957. He began studying biology at Utrecht University in 1975, but also started taking medicine in 1978, in part due to his interest and in part because his friends and brothers were in the medical profession. He spent 1 year in Nairobi, Kenya, and half a year at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, United States, for biology rotations. He received a Doctoraal (equivalent to an MSc) in Biology in 1982 and an Artsexamen (equivalent to an MD) in 1984. Mostly because of his research background, Clevers was selected for a training position in paediatrics, and then went to pursue a PhD in 1985, under the supervision of Rudy Ballieux. He obtained his PhD 1 year later.

Career

After his PhD, Clevers went to the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute as a postdoctoral researcher at Cox Terhorst's group. In 1989, he returned to the Netherlands, joining his alma mater, Utrecht University, as an assistant professor at the Department of Clinical Immunology.

In 1991, Clevers became a professor and the chair of the Department of Immunology at Utrecht University. He moved to the University Medical Center Utrecht in 2002 as a professor in molecular genetics, and started his lab at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research (Hubrecht Institute). At the same time, he took up the position of Director of the Hubrecht Institute.

In March 2012, Clevers was elected the president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, succeeding Robbert Dijkgraaf. His term concluded in 2015, and he started another lab at the , focusing on childhood cancer, and became the Director Research and Chief Scientific Officer there until 2019.

Clevers left University Medical Center Utrecht and was appointed Professor in Molecular Genetics at Utrecht University in 2020.

In 2022, Clevers joined the Swiss healthcare company Roche as its Head of Pharma, Research and Early Development and a member of its Corporate Executive Committee. He remains an advisor and guest scientist or visiting researcher to his research groups at the Princess Máxima Center and Hubrecht Institute.

Since 2017, Clevers is an investigator at the Oncode Institute in Utrecht.

Clevers has served at a number of scientific organizations, including on the board of directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (2013-2016), and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (2005-2015), the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna (2015-2021) and the Francis Crick Institute in London. He is currently on the advisory board of various scientific journals, including The EMBO Journal, Disease Models & Mechanisms, Cell, Cell Stem Cell and EMBO Molecular Medicine. From 2014 to 2022, he was also on the editorial committee of the Annual Review of Cancer Biology.

Outside the academia, Clevers has been a scientific advisor to numerous biotechnology companies. He also co-founded California-based Surrozen in 2016 and Shanghai-based D1 Medical Technology in 2019.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Chemist_Hans_Clevers_replaces_worn-down_body_parts_with_organoids_created_outside_the_body-VPRO-The_Mind_of_the_Universe.ogv" caption="Hans Clevers interviewed for the Dutch [[television show]] The Mind of the Universe"] ::

Research

Clevers's early career focused on the Wnt signaling pathway. His group identified the TCF1 protein, a member of the TCF gene family and a crucial downstream component of the Wnt signaling pathway, making it central in immune responses, embryonic development and tissue repair. His interest in the gastrointestinal tract began with the discovery that another TCF family member, the TCF4 protein, is required in forming intestinal crypts. Collaborating with Bert Vogelstein, he found that in colon cancer where the APC gene is doubly mutated, TCF family members activate catenin beta-1, which then enhances the expression of many genes that cause cancer transformation, connecting the Wnt signaling pathway with colon cancer.

In 2007, Clevers's group identified a marker for stem cells of the small and large intestines, LGR5, itself also a target of the Wnt signaling pathway. This led to his finding that LGR5 is a stem cell marker in other organs as well, including the stomach and hair follicles.

Building on this discovery, in 2009, his group published a landmark paper, describing for the first time how organoids, which are 3-dimensional in vitro structures that behave anatomically and molecularly like the organ from which they are derived, were generated from adult stem cells, creating organoids of the small intestine. Clevers's group has applied this technology to culturing organoids from other organs, such as the stomach and liver, as well as from various cancer types, including cancer of the breast and the ovaries. This platform has since been applied in personalized medicine, by generating organoids from specific patients to screen for drugs. This is not limited to cancer but is applicable to other diseases as well (for example, cystic fibrosis). His current major research interest is in using organoids derived from adult stem cells to study the molecular mechanism of tissue and cancer development.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Clevers's group modelled the infection of SARS-CoV-2 using lung organoids.

Honours and awards

References

References

  1. "Johannes Carolus Clevers". [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].
  2. "2016 – Johannes C. Clevers". Ilse & Helmut Wachter Foundation, [[Medical University of Innsbruck]].
  3. "Prof.dr. J.C. Clevers". [[Utrecht University]].
  4. "Prof. dr. J.C. (Hans) Clevers". [[University Medical Center Utrecht]].
  5. (2018). "Mentoring the Next Generation: Hans Clevers". [[Cell Stem Cell]].
  6. Clevers, Hans. (1 October 2021). "The development of organoids for cancer research: an ode to the scientific method".
  7. "CURRICULUM VITAE". [[Utrecht University]].
  8. "Prof. Dr. Hans Clevers". [[Roche]].
  9. "Clevers: Adult stem cell-based organoids". Utrecht University.
  10. "Clevers group". {{ill.
  11. (2013). "A gutsy approach to stem cells and signalling: an interview with Hans Clevers". [[Disease Models & Mechanisms]].
  12. "Hans Clevers on Becoming a Scientist". [[Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory]].
  13. (22 June 2013). "Ik leerde het belang van vertrouwen in mezelf". [[Trouw]].
  14. "Hans Clevers". [[Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences]].
  15. "Hans Clevers". Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research.
  16. "Distinguished Lecture: Hans Clevers - "Gut Stem Cells, Organoids, and Precision Medicine". [[Columbia University]].
  17. (26 March 2012). "Hans Clevers volgt KNAW-president Robbert Dijkgraaf op". Zorgvisie.
  18. "President: Hans Clevers". [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]].
  19. (1 February 2022). "New challenge for Hans Clevers at Roche". Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research.
  20. (1 February 2022). "Changes to the Roche Board of Directors and the Corporate Executive Committee". Roche.
  21. "Hans Clevers Group". Oncode Institute.
  22. "American Association for Cancer Research Councilors and Directors". [[American Association for Cancer Research]].
  23. "Former SAB Members". [[Research Institute of Molecular Pathology]].
  24. "Hans Clevers". [[Francis Crick Institute]].
  25. "Advisory Board Biographies". [[The EMBO Journal]].
  26. "Editors and Board". [[Disease Models & Mechanisms]].
  27. "Staff and advisory board". [[Cell (journal).
  28. "Advisory board". [[Cell Stem Cell]].
  29. "Advisory Board Biographies". [[EMBO Molecular Medicine]].
  30. "Hans Clevers, MD, PhD". Surrozen.
  31. (2 March 2020). "Surrozen to Present at Cowen and Company 40th Annual Health Care Conference". Surrozen.
  32. "创始团队". D1 Medical Technology.
  33. (8 February 2021). "丹望医疗完成数千万元天使轮融资，凯风创投领投". [[Sina Corporation.
  34. (2017). "The organoid architect". Science.
  35. (1991). "Identification and cloning of TCF-1, a T cell-specific transcription factor containing a sequence-specific HMG box". The EMBO Journal.
  36. (1997). "Depletion of epithelial stem-cell compartments in the small intestine of mice lacking Tcf-4". [[Nature Genetics]].
  37. (1997). "Constitutive Transcriptional Activation by a β-Catenin-Tcf Complex in APC−/− Colon Carcinoma". [[Science (journal).
  38. (2007). "Identification of stem cells in small intestine and colon by marker gene Lgr5". [[Nature (journal).
  39. (2010). "Lgr5+ve Stem Cells Drive Self-Renewal in the Stomach and Build Long-Lived Gastric Units In Vitro". Cell Stem Cell.
  40. (2008). "Lgr5 marks cycling, yet long-lived, hair follicle stem cells". Nature Genetics.
  41. (2009). "Single Lgr5 stem cells build crypt-villus structures in vitro without a mesenchymal niche". Nature.
  42. (2013). "In vitro expansion of single Lgr5+ liver stem cells induced by Wnt-driven regeneration". Nature.
  43. (2018). "A Living Biobank of Breast Cancer Organoids Captures Disease Heterogeneity". [[Cell (journal).
  44. (2019). "An organoid platform for ovarian cancer captures intra- and interpatient heterogeneity". [[Nature Medicine]].
  45. (2021). "Realizing the potential of organoids—an interview with Hans Clevers". [[Journal of Molecular Medicine]].
  46. (2015). "Q&A: Hans Clevers". Nature.
  47. (2016). "Cystic Fibrosis Patients Benefit from Mini Guts". Cell Stem Cell.
  48. (2021). "An organoid-derived bronchioalveolar model for SARS-CoV-2 infection of human alveolar type II-like cells". The EMBO Journal.
  49. "Hans C. Clevers". [[European Molecular Biology Organization]].
  50. "Hans Clevers". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  51. "NWO Spinoza Prize 2001". [[Dutch Research Council]].
  52. (October 2017). "Professor Hans CLEVERS". [[Louis-Jeantet Foundation]].
  53. (30 April 2005). "Die Preisträger". [[Meyenburg Prize.
  54. "Hans Clevers". [[Academia Europaea]].
  55. (2010). "UEGW Barcelona 2010 : 18th United European Gastroenterology Week: Final Programme". [[United European Gastroenterology Federation]] (UEGF).
  56. "Laureates 1976 to 2021". [[Ernst Jung Prize.
  57. "William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology". [[American Gastroenterological Association]].
  58. "Hans Clevers". [[Heineken Prizes]].
  59. "Koninklijke onderscheidingen 2012". Utrecht University.
  60. "NIEUWE LEDEN". Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen.
  61. "Hans Clevers". [[Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences]].
  62. "Hans Clevers". [[National Academy of Sciences]].
  63. "Hans Clevers, MD, PhD". American Association for Cancer Research.
  64. "Hans Clevers". [[French Academy of Sciences]].
  65. "Hans Clevers". [[Pour le Mérite.
  66. "Hans CLEVERS". Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste.
  67. "Hans Clevers (2016): Replacement organs from a petri dish". [[Körber Foundation]].
  68. (2 March 2018). "German award for Hans Clevers". Princess Máxima Center.
  69. "Hans Clevers". [[Royal Society]].
  70. "Professor Johannes Carolus Clevers ForMemRS, HonFRSE". [[Royal Society of Edinburgh]].
  71. "Hans C. Clevers". [[Keio University]].
  72. "2021 - Hans Clevers". The Pezcoller Foundation.
  73. "Hans Clevers recibe el Abarca Prize 2025 por su investigación en organoides {{!}} Roche España".

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