Gerrit Meijer

As Head of Research and Innovation, I am responsible for the innovation of the department's patient care through translational scientific research. At the research institute of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, I lead the Diagnostic Translational Oncology section and I am group leader of a research group that conducts research into biomarker development for early detection, prognosis determination and predicting response to therapy in colorectal cancer. In addition, I am involved in local and (inter)national research infrastructure programs, especially in the field of biobanking and related fields.

As a pathologist, you can see the disease process in detail through the microscope. You try to analyze and classify your observations and consider what they mean for the diagnosis and treatment of the patient. Due to the rise of 'Personalised Medicine' (tailor-made treatment), the field of pathology is in full swing, and that certainly applies to our department as well. Because of the unique bridging function that pathology fulfils between research into mechanisms of disease and the application of that knowledge in the clinic, pathology is a pivotal figure in the translational research of the Netherlands Cancer Institute.

Secondary activities:

• Supervisory Board IKNL, vice-chairman
• BBMRI.NL, national co-director
• EATRIS.NL, national director
• Health-RI, chief science officer
• ZonMW programme committee personalized medicine, vice-chair
• ZonMW programme committee translational research, member
• AACR GENIE, member executive committee
• AACR Pathology Taskforce, member
• AACR Publications Committee, member
• National Health Care Institute, member of the Expertise Group on the Management of Registers for Expensive Medicines
• CRCbioscreen B.V., Co-Founder/Chief Scientific Officer and Shareholder
• Mission Tumor Unknown, member of the advisory committee