Nienke ter Haar

Nienke ter Haar (MD, PhD)

Nienke ter Haar (MD, PhD) performed her PhD in the Laboratory of Translational Immunology of the University Medical Center Utrecht, focusing on disease mechanisms, therapy and prognosis of systemic autoinflammatory diseases such as systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a rare pediatric rheumatic disease. After finishing her PhD, Nienke has worked as a physician in the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital. Being a clinician-scientist – and mother – she experienced the opportunities and difficulties in combining a career in science and clinics while maintaining a good work-life balance. She is therefore happy to be part of the Pathway project since April 2019.

Ann-Sophie De Craemer (MD)

Ann-Sophie De Craemer (MD) is a clinical PhD student at the Rheumatology department of Ghent University Hospital, Belgium. During her training as a medical doctor, she participated in the ESEM Summer School on Biomedical Engineering in Dublin, Ireland. She received her medical degree in June 2015, followed by a 2-year clinical training in Internal Medicine. From October 2017, she started a PhD project in the field of spondyloarthritis (SpA). She participates in the follow-up of a large SpA patient cohort and in an investigator-initiated interventional trial about a treat-to-target approach in early axial SpA. Furthermore, she jointly conducts several MRI studies in order to refine imaging modalities in SpA. Apart from clinical studies, she also investigates the role of gut mucosal barrier integrity in the pathogenesis of SpA. This research has a more fundamental focus and should result in a more comprehensive insight into the initiation and progression of disease, which ultimately offers opportunities for new treatment strategies.

Portrait Olle ten Cate

Olle ten Cate (Professor)

Olle ten Cate (Professor) attended medical school at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the Netherlands, and subsequently spent his professional life serving medical education. In 1986 he completed a PhD dissertation in medical education. Until 1999, he was closely involved with all of the UvA’s major preclinical and clinical curriculum reforms, education research, program evaluation and educational development. In 1999, he was appointed professor of Medical Education at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. From 2005 to 2017, he was the director of the Center for Research and Development of Education at UMC Utrecht. His research interests include curriculum development, peer teaching, competency-based medical education, and many other topics in health professions education. From 2006 until 2012, he served as president of the Netherlands Association for Medical Education (NVMO). In 2012, he was appointed adjunct professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, next to his work in Utrecht, to co-lead a collaborative doctoral program in health professions education. He published extensively in the medical education, supervises many doctoral students and receives many international invitations to speak. He received the NBME’s John P. Hubbard Award in the USA for his work related to assessment, the NVMO Han Moll Penning and the first biennial international Ian R. Hart Award for innovation in medical education.

Annet van Royen-Kerkhof (MD, PhD)

Annet van Royen-Kerkhof (MD, PhD) is pediatrician-immunologist/rheumatologist, and Head of the Department of Pediatric Immunology, Rheumatology, Infectiology, Hematology and StemCell Transplantation of the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMC Utrecht). Her clinical work, focussing on pediatric systemic autoimmune diseases, mainly juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM), is closely interrelated with fundamental research from the Laboratory of Translational Immunology of the UMC Utrecht, and the Child Development & Exercise Center of the UMC Utrecht. Her fields of interest are development of biomarkers (e.g. galactine-9) to assess disease activity in JDM, and development of training programs to increase physical activity in children with musculoskeletal inflammation. Dr van Royen-Kerkhof and co-workers actively contribute to research projects of centers for JDM worldwide. In addition, Dr van Royen-Kerkhof is Program Director of the Medical Research Master SUMMA, a program to train clinician-scientists.

Belinda van 't Land

Belinda van’t Land (PhD)

Belinda van’t Land (PhD) is a Sr. Scientist within Nutricia Research and affiliated to the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, UMC Utrecht. She currently leads a cross-functional research team (consisting of a Post-doc, 3 PhD students and a Sr. Assistant Scientist) studying the complex interplay between nutrition and immunological development in early life. She obtained her PhD at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, which focused on the immunopathology involved in mucosal barrier injury with the impact of nutrition as key study aspect. With increasing interest in immunological challenges and the passion for translational research she took the role as scientist within Nutricia Research and performed clinical as well as preclinical research leading to a fast amount of publications, patents as well as granted research collaborations. With her passion for early life immune development and believe that nutrition can make the difference, she is dedicated to increase the translational capacity of current research collaboration.

María Concepción Iribar (MD, PhD)

María Concepción Iribar (MD, PhD) is currently professor of Biochemistry and Research Methodology, at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Spain. She is specialist in nuclear medicine (University Hospital Zaragoza, Spain and University Hospital HUVN, Granada, Spain). Director of the “Research Office” (Granada University, 2000-2008). Director of the master in Neuroscience (1994-2000 and 2012-2020). Responsible of the courses on scientific methodology (online master Nutrenvigen G+D factors). Knowledge´s and skills on web design and Content Management System WordPress. Her research has been centered in neuroimaging and neurochemistry.