Dirk Van Bekkum

Dirk Willem 'Dick' van Bekkum (1925-2015) was a Dutch medical-radiobiologist and pioneer in bone marrow transplantation and stem cell research, performing some of the first transplants in the late 1960s. He founded and directed the Radiobiological Institute of TNO in Rijswijk for 30 years, served as professor of experimental transplantation biology at Leiden University and radiobiology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and co-authored the influential book Radiation Chimaeras in 1967. He was also a founder and former president of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and established the first Comprehensive Cancer Center in Rotterdam.