As an independent scientific institute, RIVM stands for a healthy population in a sustainable, safe and healthy environment for current and future generations. RIVM offers advice based on scientific knowledge and research, coordinates prevention programmes, and stands ready to act in times of crisis. 

As the public face of RIVM, the Director-General ensures that the institute continues to develop as a learning organisation working on societal challenges in the fields of health and the environment. In that role, Ms Arenda will make vital choices about such topics as innovation and digitalisation, as well as collaboration with knowledge partners in the Netherlands and abroad. Working with the RIVM Executive Board, the Director-General will transform the recently adopted Strategy RIVM2030 into tangible results, promote collaboration between the various knowledge centres and departments, and stand firm in support of the institute’s independent knowledge position.

Anita van den Ende, Secretary-General of VWS

“The Executive Council at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) is pleased with Isabel’s appointment to the role. RIVM is an important, independent part of the Ministry’s activities and plays a crucial role in researching healthy lifestyles and in preventing and controlling infectious diseases. Her scientific knowledge and expertise, combined with her management experience, make Isabel the right person to head RIVM. We look forward to working with her.”

Isabel Arends, DG RIVM as of 1 April 2026

“It is a great honour to take on this role at RIVM! RIVM is an organisation with a strong mission in Dutch society, where professionals work on health and safety every day, based on expertise and in close collaboration. I look forward to contributing my wide-ranging experience in heading knowledge-intensive organisations and my coaching leadership style. I believe in openness: in showing how knowledge is created and in reinforcing the connection between science, policy and practice based on our role at RIVM – even and especially in challenging times. Creating calm, clarity and connection is key in that context.”

Professor I.W.C.E. (Isabel) Arends, PhD has been affiliated with Utrecht University since 2018, where she serves as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Professor of Sustainable Organic Chemistry. Before that, her career included several years chairing the Biotechnology department at Delft University of Technology. She also established the Bioengineering Institute at that university, serving as director from 2016 to 2018. Isabel Arends earned a degree in Physical Organic Chemistry from Leiden University, where she also completed her doctorate in 1993. In her new role as DG RIVM, Isabel Arends also plans to continue her affiliation with Utrecht University as a professor. 

This appointment was established through the procedure for the top management group at the Senior Civil Service (SCS-TMG). The Directorate-General for the Senior Civil Service handled the recruitment process for this leadership role and supported the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in the selection process. As is standard practice in the SCS-TMG procedure, the open vacancy was announced to the general public, so anyone could apply.