The Julius Center began her existence in 1996 as the Julius Center for Patient Oriented Research (Julius Centrum voor Patiënt Gebonden Onderzoek). Its foundation was a result of the merger of the departments of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care of the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht). In 1999, the center changed its name to Julius Center for General Practice and Patient Oriented Research (Julius Centrum voor Huisartsgeneeskunde en Patient Gebonden Onderzoek), because of the addition of the University's Department of General Practice. As a result of a reorganization of the UMC Utrecht, the Departments of Nursing and Nutrition Science also joined the Center. This caused a new name change. The current full name of the Julius Center is Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care (Julius Centrum voor Gezondheidswetenschappen en Eerstelijns Geneeskunde). As the subtitles changed to include new disciplines and the center increased in size, the name Julius Center has gradually become a symbol in the Netherlands (and elsewhere) of expert scientific research and education. As such, the center bundles the know-how of the disciplines epidemiology, public health, general practice, nutritional science, biostatistics, medical ethics and medical technology assessment. The Center currently employs approximately 400 individuals.