Until 2015, Frank was a full professor and director of the Department of Neonatology of the University Medical Center in Utrecht, The Netherlands. His research is focused on mechanisms of perinatal brain damage and, related to this, neuroprotective strategies involving pharmacological neuroprotection as well as neuronal regeneration using stem cells.

He is, among other research projects, Principle Investigator of 3 funded projects on “Regeneration of brain damage using autologous stem cell transplantation” (p9 mice); “Pharmacologic neuroprotection after hypoxia-ischemia investigated in the rat (p7) and mice (p9) pup” and “Long term effects of neonatal corticoid treatment” (clinical follow-up of 15-20 y old ex-premature babies) respectively.

Besides his directorship of the Department of Neonatology, he is also a member of the Management Team of the Division of Mother & Baby, including the Departments of Obstetrics, Neonatology, In Vitro Fertilisation and Gynaecology, and the PsychoNeuroImmunology Laboratory and has various teaching tasks. He was chief-editor of the “Dutch Ultrasonoor Bulletin”, of the “European Journal of Ultrasound” and of the “Dutch Journal of Paediatrics”.

Currently he is a member of the Editorial Boards of “Neonatology”, “Current Paediatric Reviews” and “Anales de Pediatria” (Spanish). He is reviewing many manuscripts of various international peer-reviewed journals. Professor Van Bel is member of the American Society of Paediatric Research and European Neonatal Brain Club and has various professional connections with other European and American research groups in the perinatal field (Gothenburg; Copenhagen, Zürich, Leuven (Belgium), Sienna (Italy), Los Angeles (USC) and the University of Stanford.

Floris completed his medical education at the Medical School of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 1984.
From 1984-1986 he worked at the Institute Physiology I of the same university, which lead to his PhD thesis entitled: “Perinatal hypoxia and visual functions in infants and children” in 1988.

From 1986-1991 he was trained in pediatrics in the Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam. His fellowship neonatology was divided between the Sophia Children's Hospital and the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Since April 1993 he is staff neonatologist of the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital/University Medical Center.

In 1994 he spent his post-doc period at the Department of Physiology of the University of Pennsylvania PA, USA. The main focus of his scientific research is early detection of neonatal brain injury (including MRI techniques) and neuroprotection. He has obtained grants from different sources including The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development ZonMW. Dr. Groenendaal has been involved as co-promotor in 11 PhD studies, Publications cited in PubMed include more than 300 papers.

He is member of many professional societies such as American Society of Paediatric Research, European Society for Pediatric Research, and the Dutch Paediatric Association. He has been editor of Paediatric Research and the Netherlands Journal of Paediatrics.