Prof Dr Johan Smitz graduated as M.D at the Free University Brussels (VUB), Belgium. in 1980 and obtained his specialty in Clinical Pathology/Biochemistry/ Radio-Isotopes in 1986. He sub-specialised in Reproductive Medicine and got his PhD in 1993.

From 1986 – 2019 he has been the Head of the Endocrine Laboratory of the University Hospital UZBRUSSEL in Belgium. He became Professor of Endocrine Physiology and Reproductive Medicine in 1997 at VUB. He founded the Follicle Biology (FOBI) Research Laboratory in 1997.

His main activities are directed towards the implementation of basic techniques related to oocyte biology from the research laboratory into the clinical activities. Johan published more than 350 articles of which more than 100 as first or senior Author

He is currently Emeritus and Visiting Professor at VUB, Visiting Professor at University Peruana “Cayetano Heredia” in Lima (Peru) and at Sun Yat Sen University in Guanghzou (South-China)

He recently founded two Biotech start-up companies from his research at Free University Brussels: 1/ Fertiga  and 2/ Lavima Fertility. Both start-ups aim to increase access to fertility treatment by increasing efficiency and decreasing the burden of  ART treatment .