About
Field(s) of expertise
The main clinical focus of our research is on acquired brain injury (Ribbers, Heijenbrok-Kal and Grauwmeijer), pediatric rehabilitation (Pangalila,van der Meulen and Roebroeck) and spinal cord injury (Ostherthun and van den Berg-Emons). Within these clinical topics the overarching research themes are: data driven personalized rehabilitation (Selles), ambulatory activity monitoring (Bussmann), physical fitness (van den Berg-Emons) and innovative rehabilitation technology (Onneweer).
Education and career
My professional career started as resident neurosurgery in 1989 and switched to rehabilitation medicine in 1991. As resident I chaired the ‘kerngroep revalidaticum’ and participated in the ‘concilium revalidaticum’. Since 1995 I have worked at Rijndam rehabilitation in Rotterdam. My clinical tasks have focused on patients with severe cognitive, behavioral and linguistic disorders due to acquired brain injury. Until 2007 I managed the inpatient division with 120 beds. In 2007 I founded the Rotterdam Neurorehabilitation Research (RoNeRes) consortium, a collaboration between Rijndam rehabilitation and the Erasmus University MC. I was appointed professor Neurorehabilitation in 2012 and head of the department of Rehabilitation Medicine Erasmus MC in 2018.
Publications
Teaching activities
From 2005 until 2014 I was substitute trainer for residents in rehabilitation medicine. As chair of the special interest group Traumatic Brain Injury I have organized two-days post academic teaching courses
Other positions
From 1995 until 2007 I managed the inpatient division of Rijndam (120 beds and ± 250 fte personnel), during which period of time I also chaired the medical staff. I chaired the Dutch Special Interest group Traumatic Brain Injury from 2004-2014, was vice chair of the Scientific Committee of the Dutch Society of Rehabilitation Medicine, was elected president of the International Brain Injury Association in 2015, was member of the board of governors of the Rotterdam Stroke service, and leader of the Medical Delta theme “Innovative Rehabilitation Technology”. In 2015 I chaired the DCRM (Dutch Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine): “Crossing borders”. In 2016 I organized the 11th World Congress “Brain Injury: from cell to society” in the World Forum in the Hague.
