Arend Schot
In Memoriam
Arend Schot died on 11 April 2024. He worked at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine for 47 years and was well known for his kindness, empathy and honesty. Schot put a new spin on his discipline and was a pioneer in the field of plastinates. This helped the faculty significantly reduce the use of laboratory animals in its teaching. It was for this that he was renowned both within the Netherlands and beyond. Six colleagues from Veterinary Medicine look back on their collaboration with Schot and the relevance of his work for the future.
Professor Daniela Salvatori:
"Five months after I started working at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Initially it was pretty tough. I hardly knew anyone at that time, but Arend helped me get to know people both within the faculty and outside it, mainly through online video calls. He had quickly embraced that way of doing things and, in so doing, also put life-long learning into practice. We talked a lot at that time."
"We were still busy preparing for a multi-day symposium with the Dutch Association for Laboratory Animal Science and the Animal Welfare Body. Arend has meant so much to the field that we’ve decided to organise a theme day around his work, alongside all the specialist topics that day. The theme day isn’t just about plastination, it’s also about training. We’re doing this not only to remember Arend, but also to reflect on what he thought was important for the future."
Tim van Olmen, preparer and technician:
"I knew Arend pretty well, not only from my time in Pathology, but also from the vegetable garden association. When I saw the vacancy for a technician in Comparative Anatomy & Physiology, I talked to him about it. It was partly thanks to Arend that I got the job. Unfortunately, he died two weeks before I officially started."
"I was looking forward to working with him, but unfortunately it was not meant to be. I hope, however, that I can still continue to pursue some of the things that he was working on in my own work. I found his passion for the work inspiring: He spoke very enthusiastically about it and always wanted to help everyone. I’d like to be like that in my work as well."
Jacobine Schouten, veterinary anatomical preparer and prosector:
"The atmosphere was always good with Arend in the team. He always remained calm, even when things went wrong – if a particular piece of equipment suddenly stopped working, or a cartridge or tube full of liquid became blocked. He didn’t let things like that get to him, he could see the funny side of situations like that."
"People sometimes wonder how education and research is managing since Arend's death. It’s all still going on, the team is managing to cope with all the tasks. But it’s still incredibly sad that he is no longer with us."
Maarten van Emst, senior lecturer:
"When I started teaching, I had no teaching experience. Arend helped me with this so I could talk about physiology in a clear way. Although I was the teacher in front of the class and he was the assistant, students didn’t notice the difference. Arend was good at telling stories and was very humorous."
"We would have liked to have had Arend with us for a bit longer, not least so we could prevail upon his knowledge. He was inventive and was keen to try out new techniques and processes himself, a lot of the things that he knew were not on paper. That suited him; he had equipment all over the place that he thought might be useful, but which we are now wondering what to do with. He knew the appliances inside out and he did all the maintenance himself. That's how versatile he was."
Claudia Wolschrijn, associate professor:
"Arend knew exactly what a person needed to make them feel better, he made time for everyone who needed it. Having worked at the faculty for so long, he was able to see things from all kinds of different angles and was good at putting things into perspective. For example, he understood how the board works, because he’d been on it once himself."
"Arend wanted to tie everything up properly before he retired and was very much in the process of doing that. He played an active role in handing over his role. We’re still working on all kinds of models that he created, not only within education, but also for the clinics at the Academic Veterinary Hospital. His work still contributes to animal welfare that way."
Lisa Drost, veterinary anatomical prosector:
"Arend could remember everything really well, including little things that he might suddenly ask you about again. When colleagues had come with their children to his booth at events organised by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, he would enthusiastically talk about everyone who had been there after the weekend."
"One of his latest projects was a new method for embalming cats. This allowed cats to be kept much longer and made them more suitable for teaching. Now dozens of students can carry out lifelike surgery on a cat’s eyelid and it’s also possible to use the same cat in eight different practicals. That way, far fewer dead animals are needed for teaching purposes. These methods, which were devised by Arend, will remain relevant well into the future."