Roland Bertens (Zeist, 1989) obtained bachelor's degrees in both History and Law at Utrecht University, following courses in philosophy as well. During this period, he also taught courses at university as a teaching assistant. After this, he went on to do a master's in Health Care Law at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and a research master's in History and Philosophy of Science at Utrecht University. After an internship at consultancy firm PwC and working as a research assistant at Utrecht University, he obtained his PhD position at the Julius Center and works as a teacher and researcher in health care law and the history of medicine. His PhD project is being supervised by prof. dr. Frank Huisman (History of Medicine at UMCU) and prof. dr. Jaap Sijmons (Health Care Law at UU).

In my research project I focus on the rise of health care regulation through legislation in the Netherlands in the post-war period. In studying this development, I take a dual perspective, with a more cultural-historical approach to the rise of (a discourse on) patient rights on the one hand, and the increasing focus on shifting 'governance' in the system of health care since the 1970s on the other.