Louis Bont is trying to save ALL the children (he's a pediatrician)

April 16, 2025 · 46 min

Louis had an uneventful childhood: Born and raised in Amsterdam, he was a normal kid who liked playing with friends and reading books. But his mother had a strong social justice bent, and she inspired Louis to live a life dedicated to helping others.

Dr. Louis Bont is now a world-renowned respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) researcher and pediatrician who heads the Department of Pediatrics at Wilhelmina Children's Hospital at University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. He helped found ReSViNET, a non-profit foundation trying to reduce the RSV burden on kids all over the world.

Louis works outside his comfort zone 50 percent of the time, believes all people should have two jobs, and thinks a small dose of doubt is necessary to be a good doctor. He also fell asleep while reading bedtime stories to his kids and currently loves watching political dramas on Netflix.

Despite working on some of the biggest RSV clinical trials, Louis tries to take a third world-first approach to his research. Hear him explain what this means, and what he's working on now, on the second episode of Socializing with Scientists.

Follow his work at ReSViNET, the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Foundation, and on X.

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