BIOGRAPHY
After finishing Medical School (Erasmus University Rotterdam & Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam), he was trained in Internal Medicine and subsequently Infectious Diseases. Since 1999 he is a full staff member of the departments of Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine – Infectious Diseases section.
He obtained a MSc degree in Clinical Epidemiology in August 2000 and finished his PhD on ‘Determinants, Risks and Dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage’ in December 2004. For his research he was awarded the GSK ICAAC Award in 2004 and the ICAAC Program Committee Award in 2005. Subsequent research has focused on MRSA eradication (Center of Expertise ‘MRSA-eradication’ Erasmus MC; SWAB committee ‘Treatment of MRSA carriage’) as well as HIV and Tuberculosis in research-poor settings.
Since 2007 he is the trainer in Infectious Diseases as a subspecialisation in Internal Medicine Specialization at Erasmus MC and since 2008 he is the Program Director of the Researchmaster Infection & Immunity. He designed the curriculum in such way to facilitate collaboration with third parties. When Erasmus MC allowed for the minor programs to be done in foreign countries he created the minor Global Health. Within this program, more than 100 medical students are sent out to more than 40 foreign partners in 20 countries every year. In addition, he is the chairman of the Research Master programs at the Grad School Erasmus MC. For his efforts in medical education he received the ‘teacher of the year award’ in 2004.
Currently, the main emphasis is on developing a global network of research education and academic training programs, building a global research infrastructure: ‘Better Together’. With some other European medical schools he is developing a joint research master and uses Erasmus+ funding to start and expand those education collaborations worldwide.