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My name is Aart Schene. I was born 12 May 1956, Langedijk (NH). My current function is professor of psychiatry, head department of psychiatry, theme Stress-related disorders (of which I was theme leader from 01-01-14 till 01-01-20).
Where do you live and with whom?
I live in Utrecht with Hester van Wieringen, my wife (a pediatrician).
When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?
I have been changing between a biologist, an architect or a medical doctor.
Can you tell us something about your child years?
- Oldest of four, grew up in a small village (7000 inhabitants) where my family had a shop in textile, clothing and furnishing for more then a century. Grew up in a large freestanding house with the business annex.
- For my parents family life, free time, work and social contacts were totally mixed and integrated (as for me now). Being a very active enthusiastic young boy there were always activities for me to participate in.
- Happy childhood, save and pleasant. What I liked about the village was the living together and integration of the different social classes. I grew up with making no differences between people regarding income, class, type of work etc.
- Before the age of 13 I was mostly very active in practical and fysical activities: a lot of sports, working with the farmers, playing, building and gardening etc. Again a happy period.
- In elementary school I was the smartest, which was not that difficult but rather boring: from my class only two children went to a secondary school in the city of Alkmaar.
- Life changed a lot with going to secondary school: the boring time of primary school now changed and I became rapidly interested in all the new social and intellectual opportunities, in particular in the beta field, but also in philosophy and literature. Again, secondary school was a great time; having very warm memories.
What was your previous academic training?
First choice study was Biology, very nice and interesting study, but I missed the human part; so I changed to Medicine after one year. During Medicine I did some optional courses in animal psychology, anthropology and philosophy.
Where did you study?
University of Amsterdam. After that I did my psychiatry training integrated with a PhD tract at Utrecht University.
Why did you choose Biology?
From childhood onwards great interest in all biological subfields: plants, animals, agriculture, evolution, physiology etc: wanted to learn how and why nature was as it is. And second to that: what is the (negative) influence of all human activities on nature worldwide. In the mid seventies (just after the 1972 Report of the Club of Rome: The limits to growth (Grenzen aan de groei) my personal mission was to learn how to protect nature form further negative human influences.
Why did you choose Medicine?
really wanted to understand how the human body grows (embryology), how mind and body relation could be understood, and how/what about all the possible (mental and physical) illnesses. During my study I was more interested in the scientific part then in becoming a practical physician.
Of which of your research discoveries, you are most proud of?
The studies we did on the symptomatic and the functional aspects of the return to work process of patients with long lasting depression (long during absenteeism because of depression was among the most important issues around the year 2000).
Most important scientific challenge in the coming 5 years?
To come to a better understanding and treatment of the comorbidity of neurodevelopmental disorders (ADHD and autism) and stress-related disorders (depression and addiction)
If you could choose any mentor, who would this be?
Herman Tjeenk Willink.
What is your favorite topic: molecules - patients - population?
Patients.
What should be changed / improved in the scientific community?
More time (and so money) for a group sabbatical leave to study and integrate scientific papers from different perspectives on a well-defined major societal problem.
Is there anything we can wake you up for in the middle of the night?
No, you can better wait a few hours.
What is the thing that irritates you most?
The fact that we as scientists work hard to produce evidence based knowledge, while at the same the community (lay public, press, politicians etc) is increasingly ridiculizing our results.
Who would you like to have dinner with, if you had the chance?
My father, who died too early, mostly 30 years ago now, and speak with him about what has been happening ever since with the world, my three kids etc.
How do you relax from the demanding job being a scientist?
Family life, social contacts, running, reading (outside my own field), music, gardening, travelling.
Do you have a tip for our most junior scientists?
Go for what you yourself find really interesting to study and of importance to find solutions for. Do not consider too much the opinions of others. Try to integrate what you are investigating within a wider social and political context.
Please make a selection:
o Crisper-Cas9 or AI
o Pipette or Biostatistics
o RT-PCR or Proteomics
o Big data or Clinical trial
