NWO Life2025: The Essentials of Life

On 27 and 28 May, around 400 visitors, were warmly welcomed at Hotel Zuiderduin for the sixth edition of NWO Life2025. The theme of this year’s conference was The Essentials of Life. To follow the theme of this year’s theme we will delve into all the essential parts that NWO Life2025 consisted of.

Fascinating speakers

Without our renowned speakers, this edition of NWO Life wouldn’t have been the success it was. This year’s keynote speakers were none other than Professor Richard Lenski and Professor Barbara Gravendeel. Gravendeel opened the conference with a keynote focused on how research on the collection of the Leiden botanical garden has helped identify how ecosystems adapt to newly introduced species and how citizens are involved in research at the botanical garden. Lenski shared insights from his Long-Term Evolution Experiment that he has been working on since 1988 and sent the participants home with the notion: “Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result is not stupidity, it's evolution!”

Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result is not stupidity, it's evolution!

Discover all the other brilliant minds who took the stage:

Dolf Weijers (Wageningen UR)
Jasmijn Baaijens (TU Delft)
Madelon Maurice (UMC Utrecht)
Martina Vijver (Leiden University)
Matti Gralka (VU Amsterdam)
Miao-Ping Chien (Erasmus MC)
Nael Nadif-Kasri (Radboud UMC)
Valeria Bonapersona (AstraZeneca)
Vincent Mercx (Naturalis Biodiversity Center)

By inviting such a diverse group of speakers, we ensured that every facet of life science had its moment to shine. Topics varied from AI to evolution and even environmental aspects of life.

Photos by Rob Lipsius

Exhibition floor and poster sessions

You simply can’t experience NWO Life without visiting the lively exhibition floor. The poster sessions hosted on the floor contain researchers from all walks of life, serving as great topics for discussion. For the visitors who preferred to walk around and network there were plenty of exhibitors to visit and a lego wall by Brickworks for a creative outlet.

Meet our exhibitors:

NWO x KABK: Closed Cycles Exhibition

The Closed Cycle exhibitions was a collaboration between NWO and the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK). The exhibition was the outcome of months of hard work, where the designers from the KABK worked closely together with life scientists from the NWO programme Closed Cycles. Together, they investigated four urgent research topics that aim to close loops in production, consumption, and environmental systems—key to building a circular economy. It was clear that their partnership was a great success as many visitors were seen stopping to enjoy the exhibition.

Festive evening

Visitors that were looking to unwind, were in luck during NWO Life2025. Bionieuws hosted a challenging pubquiz. But the entertainment didn’t stop there. Attendees could also enjoy bowling, music and dancing.

MeetUp Game

This year it was also possible to play the MeetUp game, a playful and effective way to network. Multiple QR-codes were spread around the hotel, which led to fun challenges designed to help participants connect and learn more about NWO Life as well as each other.

Poster prizes

Three poster prizes were awarded to early career poster presenters (Master students, PhD candidates and postdocs). The poster jury selected three winners that would win €400, €200, €100 respectively. The winner of the first prize is also granted with a free ticket to NWO Life2026. This year’s winners were:

Elsa B. Girard (Naturalis Biodiversity Centre): Watching out for coral reefs with forams
Mila Krikke (Wageningen University): The Hidden Bite of Cuttlefish Suckers
Beau Bakker (Leiden University): How Membrane Fluidity Affects Plant Light-Harvesting

Partners

NWO Life2025 was made possible thanks to the support of our dedicated partners:

Regieorgaan SIA
Netherlands Insititute of Biology (NIBI)
Bionieuws
Lorentz Center
Stichting Biowetenschap en Maatschappij

And finally…. You!

The true essentials of NWO Life2025. Thank you for bringing your curiosity, energy and enthusiasm. Your presence made this edition a wonderful celebration of life sciences. We sincerely hope to see you next year and hope you had as much fun as we did.