On Friday 14 March, as part of a two-day visit to the East of England organised by Andrew Wood, Hon Dutch Consul for East Anglia with support from Norfolk County Council’s Inward Investment Team, Dutch Ambassador to the UK, Paul Huijts, visited scientists at some of the world-leading research institutes at Norwich Research Park.

After a networking lunch at which Nick Talbot, Executive Director and Group Leader of The Sainsbury Laboratory, provided the Ambassador with an overview of the park campus, Mr Huijts met with scientists at the leading edge of research into the role of the gut microbiome in pregnancy, decreasing the risk of urinary tract infections in Type 2 Diabetes patients and heart disease and bioactive compounds.

At the Quadram Institute, he was given a tour of the Clinical Research Facility with PhD student and principal investigator for the TESSA study, Julia Haarhuis. She outlined her research into preventing heart disease using bioactive compounds from a pomegranate extract.

Clinicians from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with scientists from the Quadram Institute talked the Ambassador through their collaborative research funded by the Quadram Institute Clinical Seedcorn Fund. Associate medical director for research, Professor Jon Lartey, and Dr Antonietta Hayhoe, head of human studies, explained their research on the role of the gut microbiome in pregnancy.

Prof Alison Mather, postdoctoral researcher Dr Samuel Bloomfield and consultant endocrinologist Dr Jason Cheung outlined their work on decreasing the risk of urinary tract infections in Type 2 diabetes patients.

Mr Huijts was also told about research being carried out by the University of East Anglia into how AI can be used to evaluate whether EU regulations actually support its citizens and the potential threats posed by technological developments in non-democratic states. AI4POL will bring together researchers from the fields of technology development, ethics, law, economics and political sciences, and partners include Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

Mr Huijts said: “It was a great two-day visit to Suffolk and Norfolk. East Anglia and the Dutch have many historical connections and those ties resonate today. From the connection of Norwich Airport with Schiphol to shared expertise and collaboration in domains as agriculture and health.”

The Netherlands is the biggest trading partner to Norfolk and Suffolk, and it is hoped the Ambassador’s extensive visit will strengthen direct links to Dutch investment teams and encourage partnership working following devolution with a focus on the areas covered in the visit.