Human biomedical research is often carried out using models. The use of animals as models faces growing scientific and public opposition. Other models are based on (human) cells grown in a laboratory; the best and most complex models include organoids. However, animal-derived components are often used to grow these, which has significant drawbacks for science and the development of healthcare. Paul Kouwer’s lab is developing synthetic alternatives that can replace these animal-derived materials. These ensure that the models become more reliable, which has profound effects on the quality and reproducibility of animal-free biomedical research. The Radboud University spin-off he started, SBMatrices BV, helps to make the materials widely available to researchers both at home and abroad.
My aim is to ensure that doctors and scientists will no longer have to rely on untrustworthy and variable animal-derived materials for their work on human models.
About Paul Kouwer
Prof. Dr Paul H.J. Kouwer (born 1972, Nijmegen) began his academic career at the University of Groningen, where he obtained his Master’s degree in Chemistry, specialising in Polymer Chemistry and Organic Chemistry/Chemical Technology, in 1996. In 1997, Kouwer commenced his PhD programme at Delft University of Technology. He obtained his doctorate with his thesis “Mesophase formation in discotic liquid crystals” in 2002.
After completing his PhD, Kouwer worked as a Ramsay Memorial Fellow in Hull (UK) and as a Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) and Radboud University. In 2009, he began as a lecturer at Radboud University, where he was promoted to associate professor in 2019. Since 2017, Kouwer has led his own research group on Soft Biomaterials, and since 2023 he has been appointed as Director of Education at the Molecular Sciences Education Institute.
Throughout his career, Kouwer has received various awards and grants, including the Best Teacher Award from the Institute of Molecular Sciences (2016) and the Create2Solve ZonMW grant “TRansition to Animal-Free Organoids – Phase 2: To the Market” (2025) that aims to bring the animal-free innovations from the lab to the market. In 2024, alongside his appointment as Director of Education, he founded his start-up, SBMatrices BV.