After studying medicine at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, I completed my PhD and specialized in neurology and immunology there. My PhD research was about preceding infections, molecular mimicry and anti-ganglioside antibodies in the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). I was a research fellow at the University of Glasgow (Prof. Hugh J. Willison lab). Since 2003, I have been working at Erasmus MC as a general neurologist with a particular interest in patients with peripheral nerve inflammation, especially GBS and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). I am involved in education on nerve inflammation as a board member of the Master’s program in Infection & Immunity and as a coordinator of the national AIOS Neurology training days.

I am employed as staff consultant at the department of Neurology and as staff work group leader at the department of Immunology of Erasmus MC. In 2015 I was appointed as full professor in Peripheral Nerve Inflammation at Erasmus MC. In 2025 I received the Alan J Gebhart prize for neuropathy research by the Peripheral Nerve Society (PNS).

My scientific research focuses primarily on understanding the immunopathogenesis of GBS and CIDP, the differences between patients, and finding more effective treatments. International collaboration is essential for this work, and in 2012, I initiated the International GBS Outcome Study (IGOS).

Immunology has been rapidly evolving in recent years, particularly regarding the discovery of pathogenic and diagnostic antibodies and the availability of new treatment options. In my role as coordinator of the Erasmus Center for Neuro-inflammation, I aim to leverage these developments to benefit patients with neurological disorders.

My projects

My expertise is the clinical care and research of patients with inflammatory diseases of the peripheral nervous system. I have a special interest in GBS and CIDP. My projects focus on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and outcomes of these disorders.

My laboratory studies focus on the role of molecular mimicry, antibodies, host factors, genetics and biomarkers of GBS and CIDP and on treatment pharmacokinetics. I have coordinated the development of various prognostic models for GBS, including the EGOS, mEGOS, EGRIS, mEGRIS and EGRIS-Kids, that are frequently used in clinical practice.

I have initiated the International GBS Outcome Study (IGOS) (https://igosresearch.com/) , co-initiated the International CIDP Outcome Study, and national GBS mimic study and CIDP mimics study. I am a member of the steering committee of INCbase. Furthermore, I have initiated the ‘GBS knowledge hub’ hosted at The Global Health Network, which is based on the ’10-steps in the diagnosis and management of GBS’ paper published in Nat Rev Neurol 2019 (https://gbs.tghn.org).