Hans Clevers, MD, PhD

Professor Hans Clevers, MD, PhD, is a professor at the Hubrecht Institute, which is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in the Dutch city of Utrecht. His group studies the molecular mechanisms of tissue development and cancer of various organs using organoids. His pioneering research on the developmental signaling pathway and led his group to major discoveries in the cancer and stem cell fields, ultimately resulting in technologies to grow human stem cells into mini-organs (organoids) in a dish. His research accomplishments have been recognized with the Louis Jeantet Prize and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, amongst many others. In March 2022, Hans was named head of the Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, a position he held for more than three years until returning to the Netherlands in August 2025.  

Born and raised in the south of the Netherlands, Clevers studied biochemistry and medicine in Utrecht. After earning his PhD in immunology, Hans trained as a molecular biologist at Harvard. Back in Utrecht, he became professor in immunology at the university hospital, director of the Hubrecht Institute for developmental biology (2002), and finally research director of the Princess Máxima Center for childhood cancer (2015). As president of KNAW, he founded the Academy of Arts. Hans is a member of multiple learned societies including the KNAW, the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S., the Académie Française, the order Pour le Mérite of Germany, and the Royal Society. He holds knighthoods in Holland, France, and Germany. 

Andrew LaCroix, PhD

Andrew LaCroix is a Lead Scientist at 28bio specializing in the development of iPSC-derived brain organoid models and their applications to preclinical safety and efficacy testing. Specifically, he has focused on predictive neurotoxicity assays and human-first drug discovery to reduce clinical failure rates and improve patient outcomes.

Vanessa Nieto-Estévez, PhD

Vanessa Nieto-Estévez, PhD, is the Assistant Professor of Research, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology at The University of Texas, San Antonio.

Maya Gosztyla, PhD

Maya Gosztyla, PhD, is the Co-Founder and CSO of BrainStorm Therapeutics.

Dr. Gosztyla is an experimental and computational biologist with expertise in iPSC-derived neuronal and brain organoid models, high-throughput screening, RNA biology, and machine learning for drug discovery.