Professor Dick Swaab is an internationally renowned researcher in neuroscience, who received numerous awards and published over 470 scientific papers. He earned his medical (1968) and doctoral degrees (1970) at the University of Amsterdam and served as director
of the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research for 27 years. In 1985, Professor Swaab founded the Netherlands Brain Bank, which supplies the international research community with clinical and neuropathological brain tissue.

Currently, he is also a leader of the Neuropsychiatric Disorders research team at the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience and his main research interests include sexual differentiation of the brain, neurodegenerative disorders and depression. In 2008, Professor Dick Swaab received the Academy medal for his significant role in national and international neuroscience.