R. Aerts
MD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

AERTS Raymond, born 1953-05-17.
1971-1978: studies in medicine at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium with diploma of Doctor in Medicine.
1978-1984: training in general surgery at the Catholic University of Leuven with accreditation of General Surgeon.
1988: 6 month training at the Liver Unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK in the liver transplant program.

D. Arnold
MD, PhD
Asklepios Tumorzentrum Hamburg, Germany and Instituto CUF de Oncologia, Lisbon, Portugal

Dirk Arnold is professor of oncology at the University of Hamburg, and since very recently Director of Asklepios Cancer Center Hamburg and Chairman of the Dept. of Oncology and Hematology at AK Hamburg Altona. Also, he is Medical Director of the Instituto CUF de Oncologia, an academic cancer center in Lisbon, Portugal, where he is working from late 2015 on.

Before this, he served from 2010 to 2012 as Director of the University Cancer Centre in Hamburg (UCCH) and from 2012 to 2015 at the Klinik für Tumorbiologie in Freiburg, Germany.

His major field of scientific interest are gastrointestinal cancers, and here specifically modern therapeutic approaches in biomarker-driven decision processes, and multimodal treatment strategies. He serves as chairman of Colorectal Cancer Study Group of the German AIO, a major collaborative group in clinical oncology. Within the AIO framework, he served as founding member of the Central Clinical Trials Office, underlining his expertise also in methodology of clinical research. Furthermore, his interest is the organisation of larger collaborative research structures and of integrated cancer centre networks.

Prof. Arnold is also member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Task Force Member of the National Cancer Institute, as well as Board member of the EORTC Gastrointestinal Cancer study group.

Furthermore, he is member of the German Society of Haematology and Medical Oncology (DGHO), and German Cancer Society.

Within ESMO, since 2012 he is section editor for GI cancers in the Guidelines Committee and since 2014 Associate Editor with Annals of Oncology. Furthermore, he is member oft he Practising Oncology Committee and Press and Media Committee. Since 2016, he is Executive Board member of ECCO and member oft he ECCO Oncopolicy committee, representing ESMO there.

 

P.J. Cuyle
MD
Imelda Hospital, Bonheiden, Belgium

M. D'Hondt
MD
AZ Groeninge, Kortrijk, Belgium

A. D'Hoore
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

D’Hoore André graduated as MD at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium in 1988. He became surgeon in 1994 and joined the staff of Abdominal Surgery at the University Clinic Leuven. He received an international postgraduate training in colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Fort Lauderdale, St. Mark’s Hospital in London and the Hôpital Cantonal in Geneva.
In 2000 he became a European Board Qualified Surgeon in ColoProctology. In 2007 he obtained his PhD and is full professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Leuven and contributes to graduate an postgraduate teaching of students and trainees in abdominal surgery.
He is the actual chair of the department of abdominal surgery at the University Hospitals Leuven and is the president of the Collegium Chirurgicum Belgicum.
Recently he received the honorary membership of the American and Mexican Society of Colorectal Surgery.
André D’Hoore is a regular invited speaker at international surgical meetings. His scientific work resulted in more than 200 peer-reviewed papers.
He is a founding member of the European Section of Coloproctology (ESCP) and is the founder of the surgical branch of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (S-ECCO).

 

J. Decaestecker
MD
AZ Delta, Roeselare-Menen, Belgium

J. Dekervel
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Jeroen Dekervel was born in Menen on December 18th, 1984. He obtained his medical degree at the KU Leuven in 2009, magna cum laude. From 2009 until 2017, he was a resident internal medicine and later gastroenterology at UZ Leuven and in affiliated hospitals (Sint-Andriesziekenhuis Tielt, AZ Groeninge Kortrijk). Between 2012 and 2016, he left the clinic to do translational cancer research, mainly in the field of acquired drug resistance to systemic therapies, resulting in a degree Doctor of Biomedical Sciences. He is currently a senior resident digestive oncology at the University Hospitals Leuven with special interest in hepatobiliary cancer.

C. Deroose
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Christophe M. Deroose was born in Ghent on August 6th 1976. He obtained his M.D. in 2001 at the KU Leuven (Belgium) with summa cum laude and started a residency in nuclear medicine (supervisor: Luc Mortelmans). In the framework of this residency, he fulfilled one year of clinical training in internal medicine from 2001 to 2002 (Supervisor: Johan Fevery) in the University Hospital Leuven. From 2002 on he fulfilled a PhD training in Medical Sciences. The first 2 years were spent in the Multimodality Gene Imaging Laboratory of Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, at the University of California, Los Angeles and at Stanford University. From 2004, he performed research in the Division of Nuclear Medicine and the Division of Molecular Medicine (promotor: Luc Mortelmans; co-promotors Zeger Debyser and Veerle Baekelandt. From 2006 on he resumed his residency in nuclear medicine in the University Hospital Leuven which he completed in 2008. From 2008 until now he has been working as a staff member nuclear medicine department of the University Hospital Leuven where he is responsible for imaging and therapy in cancer management (pulmonary, gynaecological and digestive), and cell- and gene imaging strategies. He was appointed as assistant professor at the KU Leuven in 2009, as associate professor in 2012 and as professor in from October 2017 on. He was the beneficiary of a grant of the Clinical Research fund of the University Hospital Leuven from 2008 to 2014 and is a Senior Clinical Investigator of the F.W.O-Flanders since 2016.
His research interest are focused on the use of nuclear medicine strategies in oncological patients, both for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. These applications include amongst others strategies for early prediction of response to peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) in patients with neuroendocrine tumors, assessment of response to treatment in oncological patients, improvements in dosimetry of patients treated with radionuclide therapy and tumor characterization for selection of treatment and prognostication. His preclinical research focuses on the development of novel reporter genes and genome editing strategies for insertion of these genes in stem cells. Reporter gene imaging is further applied to relevant animal models of disease.
He is the current secretary of the Belgian society for nuclear medicine (Belnuc) and the treasurer of the imaging group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). He is co-author of more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific publications and more than 100 congres abstracts on the use of molecular imaging and nuclear medicine techniques in pre-clinical or clinical research. These publications have been cited more than 2000 times. He contributed 7 bookchapters on nuclear medicine or molecular imaging.

E. Dresen
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Elleke Dresen serves as an abdominal radiologist at the University Hospitals Leuven since 2014. Dr. Dresen has earned her Ph.D. at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences in Maastricht, the Netherlands in 2009. Her dissertation was addressed to the multidisciplinary approach to locally advanced and recurrent rectal cancer. She is an active member of the oncological multidisciplinary team meetings, especially concerning colorectal and gynaelogical cancer patients. She practises all aspects of abdominal radiology, including MRI, CT, PET/CT, ultrasound, fluoroscopy and nonvascular abdominal interventions. Her current research is mainly concentrated at whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in patients with colorectal and ovarian cancer with the aim of optimizing treatment planning.

K. Haustermans
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Karin Haustermans graduated in 1987 as Doctor in Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics (MD) at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium. In 1993, she completed her training and qualification in Radiation Oncology. After a research fellowship at the Laboratory of Experimental Radiotherapy at the KU Leuven, she obtained her PhD in Medical Sciences for which she received in 1996 the ESTRO-VARIAN Clinical Research Award. Thereafter she spent four years as a staff member at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam.
Currently, Karin Haustermans is Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Leuven Cancer Institute of the University Hospital Gasthuisberg (Belgium) and a Full Professor at the KU Leuven. She is specialized in GI and GU oncology and has a part time research appointment as a Fundamental, Clinical Researcher that is sponsored by the Research Foundation – Flanders. She is also a member of several (inter)national scientific organizations. From 2006 to 2009 she held the Chair of the EORTC Radiation Oncology Group and was the Chair of the Quality Assurance Committee of EORTC. She is also heavily involved in the Belgian Cancer Registry as a member of the board and Chair of the Coordination Council. Recently she was appointed as a clinical editor of Radiotherapy & Oncology. In 2015 she became a fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences.
In 2010 she received the Breur medal in recognition of her major contribution made to European Radiotherapy. Karin Haustermans is author of more than 200 peer reviewed publications and is PI of several international and national research grants.

J. Jaekers
MD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Joris Jaekers graduated from medical school at the University of Leuven in 2010 cum laude. After medical school he completed 6 years of general surgical training of which he had to 2 years of academic training at the university hospitals in Leuven and 4 years in regional hospitals affiliated with the university hospital (Antwerp, Ostend and Exeter UK). After successfully finishing general surgical training in august 2016, he started a 2-year fellowship in hepatobiliary, pancreatic and gastric surgery at the university hospitals in Leuven. He was recently appointed staff member staff member at the department of Abdominal Surgery (UZ Leuven) with special interest in hepato-pancreato-biliary and gastric surgery.

J. Janssens
MD
AZ Turnhout, Belgium

C. Jehaes
MD
Clinique Saint Joseph, Liège, Belgium

A. Kartheuser
MD
UC Louvain, Belgium

V. Lucidi
MD
Hôpital Académique Erasme, Belgium

Valerio Lucidi completed his medical education at the “La Sapienza” University of Rome - Italy and gained the medical degree in 1994 with Summa cum Laude. After 1,5 years of military service as medical officer in the Italian marine corp he started in 1996 his 6-years surgical residency in Belgium at the ULB-University where he gained the surgical degree with “grande distinction”. Follows a 2 years fellowship as Chef de Clinique Adjoint in hepato-bilio-pancreatic surgery and Liver Transplantation at the Centre Hépato-Biliaire, Hôpital Paul Brousse, Villejuif - Paris France under the supervision of Prof. Bismuth and Prof. Castaing.

Since 2005 he is permanent staff-member in the digestive surgery department of the Erasme Hospital - ULB University in Brussels specifically appointed for Hepato-Biliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation. Since 2014 he is head of the Clinic of Hepato-billiary Surgery, Liver and Kidney Transplantation and is also Head of Transplantation Department of ULB University.

Valerio Lucidi is active Board Member of several Belgian Surgical Societies of the Royal Belgian Society of Surgery as the Hepatobiliary and pancreatic section (BSHBPS) of which he has been president (2010-2012), the Belgian group for Endoscopic Surgery (BGES) of which he has been president (2013-2015), Belgian Transplantation Society (BTS), the Belgian Transplantation Council (BTC), The Belgian Liver Intesine Advisory committee (BeLIAC) and the Belgian Organ Procurement Advisory committee (BeOPC). His main interest is focused on refinement of detection and limitation of liver surgery morbi-mortality, of improvement in oncologic selection criteria for surgical treatment of liver cancer as well as laparoscopic liver surgery.

G. Maleux
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

1884 - 1991 : medical school KULeuven
1991-1996 : residency in Radiology (prof. A.L. Baert)
1996-1997 : fellowship interventional radiology (CHU Rangeuil, Toulouse, France – prof. F. Joffre & prof. H. Rousseau)
1997 – 2017 : staff member interventional radiology UZLeuven
2007 : PhD-thesis : value of new diagnostic and interventional techniques to improve clinical outcome of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts.

Y. Panis
MD, PhD
Hôpital Beaujon, France

Born in 1961, november 9^th, I am Professor of Digestive Surgery since 1997 and Head of the Department of colorectal surgery in Beaujon Hospital (University Paris 7) since 2007. In clinics, my topics (for both clinical practice and publications) are focused on colorectal surgery, with special interest in IBD, rectal cancer and laparoscopy. At the end of August, 2017, I have 337 citations in PubMed, with an H index of 57. In clinical research, I have organise as principal investigator, 6 multicentric randomized studies (3 already published) on early stoma closure, bowel preparation in rectal cancer surery, on bladder drainage in rectal cancer surgery, fast track programin laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery, in one-trocart colonic surgery, and in prostethic mesh after temporary stoma closure after laparoscopic TME. Among my published papers, I have published a paper on ileal pouch anal anastomosis in Lancet journal in 1996, two papers on Annals of Surgery on segmental reversal of the small bowel for the treatment of short bowel syndrome, and one in Annals of Surgery suggesting the very low risk of infertility after laparoscopic IPAA. As member of the board of S-ECCO, I have participate to the recent guidelines on surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis, and as a member of EAES to the recent guidelines on early rectal cancer. I was up to the end of 2016 president of the GRECCAR Group (French group on rectal cancer treatment) and of the GETAID Surgery (French group on IBD surgery).

P. J. Tanis
MD, PhD
AMC, The Netherlands

Pieter Tanis finished Medical School in 1998. He defended his thesis ‘Methodology and implications of lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy’ at the University of Amsterdam in 2002. He was trained as general surgeon in Amsterdam between 2002 and 2008, followed by a two year fellowship in oncological surgery. He is a certified gastrointestinal surgeon and surgical oncologist and became a consultant at the Academic Medical Centre in 2010.
His clinical and research focus is colorectal cancer, both primary tumor and metastatic disease. Besides his core focus, he is involved in the teams of intestinal failure, pelvic redo surgery, gynecologic oncology, and inflammatory bowel disease. Minimally invasive surgery is an important aspect of his clinical work.
He has published over 150 articles in peer reviewed journals and is principle investigator of the multicenter randomized COLOPEC trial on prophylactic HIPEC in T4 colon cancer. Furthermore, he is part of the steering committee of the TESAR trial on rectal preserving treatment and CAIRO6 trial on perioperative systemic therapy in patients undergoing CRS+HIPEC.
He is Chairman of the Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group, board member of the Dutch Surgical Colorectal Audit (DSCA) and Dutch Peritoneal Oncology Group (DPOG), a member of the advisory board of the Maag Lever Darm Stichting (MLDS) and Lynch-Polyposis society, Chairman of the national colorectal cancer guideline committee, and Associate Editor of Colorectal Disease and Digestive Surgery.

B. Topal
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Baki Topal gained his medical degree (cum laude) in 1990 from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Belgium. Having finished his 6-year surgical education (summa cum laude) in 1996, he sub-specilaized for another year in hepatobiliary and pancreatic (HPB) surgery and liver transplantation at the University Hospitals Leuven (UZL), Belgium. He completed his training in liver surgery and transplantation in 1999 by doing clinical fellowships at King’s College London, Paul Brousse Paris, and Eppendorf Hamburg. In 2003 Baki Topal finished his PhD-thesis on ‘Colorectal Liver Metastases and Cancer Cell Dissemination’, and received his doctoral degree in Medical Sciences to become Professor of Surgery at KUL. Since 2005 he’s active as Head of Clinics in the department of Abdominal Surgery at UZL. He is an active board-member of several Belgian Surgical Societies and is the past-president of the hepatobiliary and pancreatic section (BSHBPS) of the Royal Belgian Society of Surgery (RBSS). Since 2006, B.Topal has focused on minimally invasive surgery and translational cancer research in hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer, for which he holds several research grants and mandates.

E. Van Cutsem
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD, is since 2000 full professor at the University of Leuven. He is head of the division of Digestive Oncology at the University Hospitals Gasthuisberg Leuven (UZ Leuven) and University of Leuven (KUL) and is board member of the Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI). He is member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine since 2015 and president of the Belgian Foundation Against Cancer since October 2016.

D. Van Raemdonck
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Dirk Van Raemdonck, MD, PHD, is a Professor of Surgery at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Chair of the Leuven University Hospitals Transplant Center, Leuven, Belgium. As a General Thoracic Surgeon he currently serves as the Surgical Director of the Leuven Lung Transplant Program.
He graduated as MD from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1984. He finished his training in general surgery in 1990 and in thoracic surgery in 1992. He was a registrar in thoracic surgery at the East Birmingham Hospital, Birmingham, U.K in 1990 (Prof HR Matthews), research fellow at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, N.Y. in 1991 (Dr RJ Ginsberg), and cardiothoracic transplant fellow at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, U.K. in 1991 (Prof JH Dark).
He obtained his PHD degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1998. His main research topic is lung transplantation with particular interest in primary graft dysfunction, donation from donors after circulatory death, and ex-vivo lung perfusion.
He is a current Board member A of Eurotransplant International Foundation since 2005 and previously served as the President of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (2012-2013) and as chair of the Thoracic Committee within the European Society for Organ Transplantation (2006-2012). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) (2016-2020) and the chairman of the ISHLT DCD Registry Steering Committee.

C. Verslype
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

A. Wolthuis
MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

Albert Wolthuis graduated medical school in 2002 (KU Leuven, cum laude). He was a surgical resident for 6 years to become general surgeon in 2008. He further trained in abdominal surgery with specialization in colorectal surgery. Since 2011 he is a staff member at the department of Abdominal Surgery (UZ Leuven) with special interest in minimally invasive surgery, transanal approaches, redo surgery, debulking and HIPEC. After his PhD in 2015 he became assistant professor at the KU Leuven.