Pieter van der Zaag

Prof. Pieter van der Zaag is a Professor in the Molecular Biophysics department at the University of Groningen's Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials. He also holds a position at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). His research focuses on bionanotechnology, advanced optical imaging techniques for 3D tissue analysis, and studying cancer drug interactions at cellular levels. He leads the van der Zaag group and the Optical Molecular Imaging Groningen (OMIG) group, collaborating with international teams in physics, medicine, and biomolecular sciences.

Research interests include developing microscopy technologies (e.g., Light Sheet, confocal, and super-resolution techniques like STED) to visualize cancer drug distribution and tumor growth dynamics. His work bridges nanotechnology and medical applications, such as improving tissue adhesive materials and diagnostic imaging in surgery. He chairs the NWO Physics for Technology and Instrumentation advisory committee and co-chairs the Intra-Operative Imaging study group of the European Society for Molecular Imaging (ESMI).

Prof. van der Zaag has advised numerous PhD and master’s students and holds patents in medical imaging, microfluidics, and diagnostic devices. His labs focus on interdisciplinary projects, combining physics, engineering, and biomedicine to advance clinical and research tools.