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Department

Pharmacy

Our goal is to individualise and optimise patient drug therapy. We achieve this through research in the field of model-based dosing (TDM, PK/PD), (pediatric) clinical pharmacology and clinical decision support. Within these research lines, we also investigate the most effective teaching tools.

About our Department

Our team

 

Principal Investigators

Project Leaders

Postdocs

Phd Students

Research Lines

 

Pharmacy: Clinical Pharmacometrics

Pharmacy: Drug Innovation

Pharmacy: Medication Optimization and Safety

Targets for the future

Our targets for the future

Other developments

We will focus on several developments that can influence and increase our research possibilities:

  • The Erasmus MC will build a new ATMP facility. The involvement of a pharmacist is crucial here, in terms of advice and oversight regarding preparation, handling and storage activities for ATMPs. Several groups within the Erasmus MC perform cutting-edge clinical research with ATMPs, which offers the potential for the strong involvement of a dedicated ATMP pharmacist. This research line is still in development, but it might lead to two separate lines in the future. The first line will focus on oncolytic viruses in cooperation with the Department of Virology. The second line might cooperate with the Department of Haematology to focus on the use – and our own production of – T-cells.
    Radiopharmacy is also fast becoming a new research opportunity. The Erasmus MC has a track record in this field with the development of Lutetium for NET cancer. The Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine is seeking cooperation with our department in this area, but successful further development of this research line will take another three to five years.
  • The Department of Pharmacy is committed to increasing the quantity and quality of our scientific output, and we aim for the first quartile of MNCS scores within the Erasmus MC. As always, our research needs to be directed at solving clinically-relevant issues that promote patient safety and patient outcome.

Notable results

PhD theses 

2022

Janique Jessurun. ’The Role of Pharmacy Services in Improving In-hospital Medication Safety‘. (29-11-2022)

Alan Abdulla. ‘Beta-lactams and Fluoroquinolones Dose Optimization in Critically Ill Patients’. (13-09-2022)

 

2021

Hassna Akhloufi. Antibiotic Stewardship – Clinical decision support systems to improve antibiotic use in hospitals. (18-06-2021)

Florine Berger. Drug induced QTc-prolongation. Towards a better understanding of potential risks.(28-04-2021)

Sanne Kloosterboer. What's in a Drop of Blood? Towards individualized treatment with antipsychotic drugs in children and adolescents. (20-01-2021)

 

2020

Koen Hussaarts. Drug-drug interactions in patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. (18-11-2020)

Femke de Velde. Dosing Optimization of Beta-Lactam Antibiotics using Parametric and Nonparametric Population Pharmacokinetic Models. (14-10-2020)

Suzanne Schol-Gelok. Influence of (co-)medication on haemostatic biomarkers. (23-09-2020)

Publications

For the publications concerning our research line Medication Optimization and Safety, click here.

For the publications concerning our research line Clinical Pharmacometrics, click here.

For the publications concerning our research line Drug Innovation, click here.

Our 2022 Key Publications   

Our 2021 Key Publications          

Our 2020 Key Publications                                    

Facilities

The Department of Pharmacy has research facilities for its research and to support research from other departments:

  • KGO (klinisch geneesmiddel onderzoek) supports all drug research in our hospital with extensive knowledge about GMP and GCP.
  • The Department of Pharmacy's laboratory is one of the largest TDM and toxicology laboratories in the Netherlands. It is ISO15189-accredited and we analyse over 15,000 research samples each years for the other departments (as well as 60,000 diagnostic samples each year).
  • CPO consultants: three staff members are official CPO consultants.
  • The following collaborations with research facilities also exist:
    • Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP): An expert centre for the production of advanced therapy medicinal products. The Department of Pharmacy will play a central role in building and exploiting the new ATMP facility.
    • ERGO: A prospective cohort study on the risk factors and determinants of chronic diseases in middle-aged and elderly persons. Over the years, several pharmacists have obtained their PhDs in studies within ERGO.
    • Genomics: An expertise Center for Genomics Research. Collaborations for research in pharmacogenetics have been very succesful (Pharmacogenetics Core Lab - Clinical Chemistry).
    • The Department of Cell Biology's Mass Spectrometry Facility: Collaboration involves equipment for the analysis of new compounds and with regards to buying equipment.

Collaborations

The department of Pharmacy has many collaborations, often based on our role in the hospital. Research and the clinical part of the department are closely linked, and most research comes from clinical practice and questions about hospital patients.

Our department's front office contains clinical hospital pharmacists who work in the wards and consult with clinicians, nurses and other health care providers. Each ward has a dedicated team of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

All of our pharmacists also work in the department's back office, tightly linking the front office and the back office to translate clinical consultations to logistics, manufacturing, quality and laboratory analysis. We can also translate research-related subjects to our back office, as we help execute drug research (KGO, clinical drug research) and laboratory analysis. This infrastructure also connects our own research lines to all other parts.

Our research lines are most closely connected with the Departments of Internal Medicine, Virology, Microbiology, Oncology, Immunology and Psychiatry. All of these collaborations are strategic, based on expertise in certain areas, and they help to increase output, visibility and patient participation in research.

International collaborations

Our partnerships with Barcelona and Louvain reflect longstanding collaborations in research focused on the treatment of kidney transplant patients. Together with Rotterdam, these centres from the largest transplant centres in Europe, and incorporate many patients in clinical studies. We also have a ten year collaboration with Chengdu (China). Over the years seven research fellows from Chengdu to the Erasmus MC (and vice versa) were supported by NWO-NCSF joint program grants. The value of this collaboration is mostly in the development of clinical research in China.

We also collaborate with the Rennes University Hospital (France), and Master students from Rennes have a research residency in our department which has led to several joint publications.

In October 2019, Dr. Birgit Koch has started a visiting professorship in Indonesia at the University of Yogyakarta, where she teaches Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Model-based Dosing and Analytical Methods. She also collaborates internationally within EPASG (the ESCMID PK/PD of Anti-infectives Study Group), as well as with researchers in Brisbane (Australia), and investigators in Vienna (Austria) and Geneva (Switzerland) on pharmacokinetic research. Within the European Union, she is involved in several EU projects such as COMBACTE, AIDA and GNA Now.

One staff member collaborates with the group of Mats Karlsson at Upssala University (Sweden) and just started a collaboration with the University of Chansha in China.

Furthermore, we also collaborate with:

  • prof. dr. David Bates, Prof. Dan Malone and Dr. Richard Boyce in the area of medication safety;
  • dr. John Devlin in the area of delirium research;
  • prof. dr. Mike Scott (Antrim, North Ireland) and prof. dr. Bert Aertgeest (Leuven, Belgium) in the area of clinical decision support.

We cooperate with more than 12 countries through an European grant (I-live). There is also intense cooperation with Switzerland and Sweden in the area of medication optimisation in the last phase of life.

Overview of our international collaborations

  • University of Yogyakarta: dr. Thobari
  • University of Leuven: Prof. dr. Spriet and Prof. dr.  Allegeart
  • University of Gent: dr. de Cock
  • University of Cincinnati Childrens: Prof. dr. Vinks
  • University of Mount Sinai: Prof. dr. Bergink
  • University of Vienna: Prof. dr. Zeitlinger
  • University Rennes: dr. Lemaitre
  • University Brisbane: Prof. dr. Roberts
  • University of Sydney: Prof. dr. Marriott and Prof. dr. Alffenaer

 

Extending our existing collaborations

Model-based precision dosing applies to a wide range of drugs and that's why our collaborations are elaborately.

  • Pediatric intensive care: Prof. dr. de Hoog
  • Infectious diseases:  Prof. dr. Verbon, dr. Muller and Prof. dr. van Rossum
  • Child psychiatry: Prof. dr. Hillegers and dr. Dierckx
  • Neonatology: Prof. dr. Reiss and dr. Simons
  • Gynaecology: Prof. dr Steegers and dr. Schoemakers
  • Pharmacology: Prof. dr. Danser and dr. Maassen-van den Brink
  • Intensive care: Prof. dr. Gommers and dr. Endeman
  • Public Health: dr. Polinder
  • Internal Medicine: dr. Versmissen
  • Neurology-immunology: Prof. dr Jacobs and Prof. dr. van Doorn
  • Medical Oncology: Prof. dr. Mathijssen, Prof. dr. Sleijfer and dr. S Koolen
  • Clinical Chemistry: Prof. dr. van Schaik

 

National collaborations

  • Radboud UMC: dr. Bruggemann, dr. ter Heine, dr. van Erp and Prof. dr. De Wildt
  • Amsterdam UMC: dr. van Hest 
  • LUMC: Prof. dr. van Gelder

 

Vacancies

For general vacancies, click here.

 

Bsc and Msc students

Are you a bachelor or master student in Pharmacy or Medicine? Are you looking for an internship in our hospital pharmacy? Please send your motivation letter and resume to our research coordinator!

In case you are from another study and still interested in our research, feel free to ask for the possibilities. Research coordinator: Eveline van Kampen e.e.m.vankampen@erasmusmc.nl.

News, events and awards

In the media

 

Corona in the media

  • 'Hoe vrouwen vergeten werden in het Covid-19-onderzoek', Trouw, 7-4-2021, Loes Visser

  • 'Wat doen Nederlandse artsen nu WHO virusremmer remdesivir ontraadt?', NU.nl, 24-11-2020, Nicole Hunfeld

  • 'As Covid-19 surges across Europe, countries fear drug shortages', NBC,  16-10-2020, Nicole Hunfeld

  • 'Tekort virusremmer remdesivir komt niet onverwacht',NRC, 6-10-2020, Nicole Hunfeld

  • 'Groot tekort aan virusremmer corona, ziekenhuizen mogen medicijn delen', AD.nl, 6-10-2020, Nicole Hunfeld

  • 'Pittige klus als inkoper geneesmiddelen in Erasmus MC: ‘Ik heb één opdracht: de voorraad moet op peil blijven’', AD.nl, 10-04-2020, Vincent Suttorp

  • 'Medicijn tegen corona pas over jaren beschikbaar' zegt ziekenhuisapotheker en klinisch farmacoloog Hugo van der Kuy, NOS.nl, 23-04-2020, Hugo van der Kuy

  • 'Medicijnen zijn het volgende struikelblok', NRC.nl, 1-04-2020, Hugo van der Kuy

Our news

Prof. dr. B.C.P. (Birgit) Koch is appointed as professor of Clinical Pharmacometrics and has publicly accepted her appointment on Friday 14 October 2022 with an inaugural lecture entitled: 'Everyone is a bit average'. You can watch her inaugural lecture here.

Education

BSc & MSc students

Are you a bachelor or master student in Pharmacy or Medicine? Are you looking for an internship in our hospital pharmacy? Please send your motivation letter and resume to our research coordinator!

In case you are from another study and still interested in our research, feel free to ask for the possibilities. Research coordinator: Eveline van Kampen e.e.m.vankampen@erasmusmc.nl.