Body Futures: The Art and Science of Emerging Biotechnologies in Healthcare

What will the human body look like in the future? Could stem cells help us repair damaged tissues, treat disease, or even regenerate parts of the body? Join us at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave for an interactive evening where scientists, artists, and ethicists explore the exciting possibilities as well as challenges of emerging biotechnologies. Renowned bio-artist Sonja Bäumel will introduce her new artwork on stem cell technology, currently on display at the museum.

What can stem cells already do today? How might these technologies transform healthcare in the years ahead? And what ethical questions arise when science pushes the boundaries of what it means to be human? Through the lens of both art and science, we will explore new ways of thinking about our biological future.

Featuring short talks, inspiring perspectives, and an open conversation with the audience, this event invites you to imagine and discuss the future of biotechnologies in healthcare. Come join the conversation.

This event will be held in English. It’s a part of the Days of Art & Science. Click here for the full, week-long programme. It’s also a collaboration with LUMC, as a part of the reNEW initiative, the global stem cell research consortium.

About the speakers:

• Sonja Bäumel is an internationally acclaimed artist with a particular affinity for microbes and embodied art. Her art practice explores the ‘in-between’ of bodies and environment. Through collaborations with scientists, she investigates how emerging biotechnologies reshape our understanding of life, health, and identity. At this event, she will introduce her newly commissioned artwork on stem cell technology, currently on display at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave.
• Heiko Locher is associate professor at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), principal investigator within the reNEW stem cell consortium, and an ear, nose, and throat surgeon. His research aims to understand how the human inner ear develops by studying the signals that shape hearing and balance. Using stem cell-derived inner ear organoids, his team investigates new ways to develop and test treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders, with the long-term goal of creating more effective and personalized therapies.
• Nienke de Graeff is assistant professor at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) specializing in the ethics of emerging biotechnologies. Her research focuses on the ethical and societal implications of stem cell research, embryo models, gene therapies, and regenerative medicine. She works closely with scientists developing stem cell technologies and regenerative medicine to explore the ethical questions these innovations raise. Her research helps ensure that new biomedical technologies are developed and used responsibly.