Tuesday, October 13, 2026
A gathering full of memories, but above all one with its eyes on the future. That was the hallmark of the symposium Working Together for Health, inspired by the work of Medical Delta professor Prof. Dr. Andrea Evers. More than a year after her passing, scientists and representatives from healthcare, government and civil society organisations came together with one question: how can we continue Evers’ connecting way of working to tackle the health and societal challenges of today and tomorrow?
“Andrea always strove for the highest attainable. And with great success.” With these words, moderators Henriët van Middendorp and Antoinette van Laarhoven opened the gathering at the Kamerlingh Onnes Building in Leiden. Evers, who passed away on 4 August 2025, was Professor of Health Psychology and a pioneer in interdisciplinary research into the interplay between body and mind. But above all, she was a bridge builder between science, healthcare and policy. It was for this reason that she was appointed Medical Delta Professor in 2019. Van Middendorp and Van Laarhoven continue: “Her driving force was unmistakable: making societal impact. She wanted scientific knowledge not to stay within the walls of the university, but to always make a difference in society. To that end, she brought people, disciplines and organisations together. And she did all of this effortlessly.”
A phenomenon
“There is really only one word that describes Andrea well: a phenomenon,” said Hanneke Hulst, former scientific director of the Institute of Psychology and a close colleague of Evers. She recalls her exceptional work ethic, her mind that never stood still, and her recognisable red dresses. “She was not only an outstanding scientist, mentor and leader, but also a friend to many people here today.” According to Hulst, societal impact was not the end point of scientific research for Evers, but rather the starting point. With every new project, she first asked herself: who benefits from this research? Which people should we invite to the table? And how can we tackle this issue together and in an interdisciplinary way?
Boundlessly ambitious
How great and multifaceted Evers’ influence was became clear during the symposium, where eight different speakers, each from their own field and organisation, looked back on their collaboration with her. Each highlighted a different side of her work and shared what Evers had taught them about thinking differently, working together and pushing boundaries. Esther Peters, director of the Leiden Bio Science Park, recalled that during her very first meeting with Evers they were already discussing ways to narrow the gap between science and society. “Andrea made connections that others had not yet thought of.”
According to Peters, Evers never limited her ambitions to Leiden, and was always immediately thinking about possible links with the rest of the world. Marieke Adriaanse, Professor of Behavioural Interventions and strategic representative of the Healthy Society Program, remembered Evers as someone who constantly encouraged others to think bigger.
“Be boundlessly ambitious, and strive for the highest attainable,” she emphasised. It is a lesson from Evers that she still carries with her every day. David de Glint, managing director of Medical Delta, spoke about her pioneering role within the South Holland partnership. “She linked different scientific disciplines and societal domains together. She stood for interdisciplinary and even transdisciplinary collaboration, long before these terms became commonplace.”
From words to action
How can we continue Evers’ ideas and way of working in the future? That question was central to the closing panel discussion, chaired by Anke Klein, associate professor and lead of the Leiden Healthy Society Center (LHSC). Which health and societal issues call for collaboration between disciplines? How do we ensure that science genuinely makes an impact? And what would Andrea ask us to do today? The discussion produced concrete action points: meeting each other in person more often, working together in the same physical space, strengthening existing collaborations, and giving societal impact more weight in the assessment of scientific research.
There was also a call to take societal problems, rather than scientific interests, as the starting point. Finally, everyone wrote down one concrete action or collaboration through which they want to make a societal impact in the coming months. In this way, the gathering went beyond memories and good intentions, and attendees left with something to put into practice. After all, it is by continuing to connect and collaborate that Evers’ legacy lives on.
Text: Eva Slings
