Susan van den Hof has been appointed as an extraordinary professor of Epidemiology and Surveillance of Infectious Diseases at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) as of September 1. She holds this chair alongside her role as head of the Epidemiology and Surveillance of Infectious Diseases (EPI) center at the RIVM. The professorship contributes to strengthening epidemiological research on infectious diseases.
Research on Infectious Diseases
The new chair aims to further strengthen scientific research on infectious diseases and their control. The focus in the coming years will be on:
- Improving surveillance of infectious diseases.
- Monitoring vaccination rates and effectiveness.
- Investigating post-infectious complaints, such as post-COVID.
“The COVID pandemic has shown how relevant this field is,” says Van den Hof. “And how important it is to be well prepared for new outbreaks. What we investigate is how we can detect outbreaks of infectious diseases earlier, how severe they are, how they spread, and how we can best limit that spread.”
Why This Chair?
“The LUMC Leiden University Medical Center (Leiden University Medical Center) has a strong clinical epidemiology department, but lacked specific expertise in the epidemiology of infectious diseases. This chair brings in more knowledge of public health and infectious diseases. At the same time, it provides opportunities for researchers at the RIVM to obtain their PhD under a professor closely involved in their research. And to follow a good epidemiology training at the LUMC.”
“This chair also offers opportunities for other collaborations. For example, in research on the link between infectious diseases and other diseases. For instance, we know that infection with HPV human papillomavirus (human papillomavirus) leads to cervical cancer and that this can be prevented through vaccination, that some people have long-lasting complaints after an infection, and that chronic diseases affect the severity of the course of infectious diseases.”
About Susan van den Hof
Van den Hof studied Biomedical Sciences in Nijmegen. She obtained her PhD at Utrecht University on research into the protection of the Dutch population against mumps, measles, and rubella, and studies during the measles epidemic of 1999-2000. Later, she worked in various positions at the RIVM and as an epidemiologist and research coordinator at the KNCV Royal Dutch Central Association (for tuberculosis control) - Tuberculosis Foundation (Royal Dutch Central Association (for tuberculosis control) - Tuberculosis Foundation). Since July 2018, she has been the head of the Center for Epidemiology and Surveillance of Infectious Diseases at the RIVM.
