UvA awards honorary doctorates to Liesbet Geris, Steve McQueen and Bianca Stigter

Liesbet Geris (1979) does research in the field of in-silico medicine in Leuven and Liège . Based on computer calculations, she develops models of the human body for health and disease, and brings these to clinical practice. In doing so, she focuses on the broad field of the Virtual Human Twin. This involves creating virtual human twins that can accurately mimic both physical and biological processes of the human body. The ultimate goal is to improve healthcare by simulating personalized treatments before they are applied to a real patient.

‘Liesbet Geris is a connector at heart; she brings together all stakeholders - the clinical and academic community, companies, European politics, and drug authorities such as the EMA and the FDA. She is the driving force behind the Virtual Human Twin manifesto, which was also signed by UvA and Amsterdam UMC,’ says honorary supervisor Alfons Hoekstra. ‘With great success, she manages to bring her work to the attention of both the general public and politicians,’ adds fellow honorary supervisor Henk Marquering.

Feature films

Steve McQueen (1969) created works of art with film and installations, which have been acquired by several museums around the world. In 2008, he wrote and directed his first feature-length film Hunger, and in 2013 his film 12 Years A Slave was released and won three Oscars. Historical sources and events underpin much of McQueen’s work. In doing so, he gives new meaning to those sources and to material heritage, such as urban sites where historical violence has taken place. His work highlights, among other things, the ongoing effects of slavery and racism in various contemporary contexts.

McQueen's wife Bianca Stigter (1964), who studied history at the UvA, writes among others for the Dutch daily NRC. She was a producer on McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave and is the maker of the documentary Three Minutes - A Lengthening (2021), which was shown at almost all major film festivals. In this film essay, Stigter extends an excerpt from a home movie, filmed in 1938 in a Jewish town in Poland, to reflect on the Holocaust, time and film.

The occupied city

In 2005, her Dutch book De bezette stad: plattegrond van Amsterdam 1940-1945 was published, followed by three collections of essays on art and history. In 2019, she published Atlas van een bezette stad. Amsterdam 1940-1945. Based on this book, McQueen and Stigter made the documentary The occupied city together. ‘McQueen and Stigter have each won their own spurs. They bring major social issues and political and historical themes to the attention of a large audience,’ said honorary supervisor Patricia Pisters.