I am currently Professor of Hematology and Medicine and Chair of the Department of Hematology and Internal medicine at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire UCL Namur, Yvoir, Belgium.

I have extensive experience in clinical and laboratory research in lymphoma, and a particular interest in Holdgkin lymphoma and late toxicities of treatments. 

I have personally conducted or been involved in more than 50 clinical studies in the field of lymphoma, either early phase clinical trials or larger-scale studies, national or international, such as the large-scale clinical trial H10 (André et al. JCO 2017) on Hodgkin lymphoma. I am currently involved as principal investigator or steering committee member in several clinical trials evaluating new agents or innovative therapeutic strategies in lymphoma.

I have assumed leadership positions in lymphoma related research projects: since 2012, I have been serving as Hodgkin committee Chairperson of the international cooperative group LYSA (The Lymphoma Study association), which is, currently, conducting over 40 clinical and translational studies, from phase I/II trials to phase III studies, some of them performed in partnership with industrial entities and used for registration of new agents.

I have served for 6 years as member of the board of the Belgian Hematology Society and I serve since 3 years as Vice-President of this Society.

Finally, I have also undertaken over the years multiple institutional and scientific responsibilities in CHU UCL Namur, Belgium (Head of Internal Medicine department) and the University Catholic de Louvain and Université de Namur.

Dr. Ivan Van Riet is processing facility director and clinical scientist in the department Hematology of the University hospital Brussel (UZ Brussel) – He is professor at the faculty of medicine of the Free University Brussels (VUB) and member of the research group Hematology and Immunology – His expertise and interest include cell processing and regulation for clinical cell therapy as well as multiple myeloma research. He is national JACIE representative, international JACIE processing laboratory inspector, board member of the Belgian Hematology Society (BHS) and chair of the BHS-JACIE committee.

Dr Karolien Beel studied internal medicine and haematology at KU Leuven. She obtained a PhD at the Centre of human Genetics Leuven in 2010. Since 2011, she works as a haematologist in ZNA Antwerpen. She is member of the BPIDG and a consultant at CME Leuven.

After his medical training at UZ-Brussel and UCL-St-Luc, Jo Caers joined the department of Hematology of the CHU de Liège in 2008. He obtained a doctoral degree in 2009 at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and continued his research activities in the field of Multiple Myeloma at the University of Liège. After studying intracellular signalling pathways and osteoclast activation, his current research aims to improve immunotherapeutic strategies. He is an active member of the International Myeloma Working Group and European Myeloma Network.

Dr Martin Colard graduated in 2013 at the Free university of Brussels. He performed most of his hematology training at the university hospitals in Brussels with a particular interest in classical haematology. He gained clinical experience in congenital RBC disorders during a semester in Paris in ‘genetic RBC Disorders unit” of Mondor Hospital in Paris and followed several complementary university certification in the field of RBC disorders and transfusion. He conducted his PhD in Paris in the laboratory of Pr. Olivier Hermine on the study of "modulation of RBC elimination and its implication in transfusion practice" in 2020. He works in the RBC and Iron Disorders Unit in Hopital Universitaire de Bruxelles – Hopital Erasme and Hopital Brugmann in Brussels.

Dr Nikki Granacher studied internal medicine and haematology at University of Antwerp. Since 2017, she works as a haematologist in ZNA Antwerpen. She is member of BHS subcommittee on MPN and member of the BJH board.

Cedric Hermans currently heads the Division of Haematology, the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Unit as well as the Hemophilia Center of the Saint-Luc University Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. He was appointed Associate Professor at the Medical School of the Catholic University of Louvain in 2003, Full Professor in 2012 and Vice-Dean in 2015.

Professor Hermans has (co)-authored more than 320 original articles in international journals and is a member of several scientific societies and international advisory boards and collaborative research projects. He is Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium and Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh.

He was president of EAHAD and is currently member of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Haemophilia and the Editor-in-Chief of the Haemophilia Journal.

His main research interests lie in the area of haemostasis and thrombosis, especially clinical studies on the treatment modalities and the wide spectrum of complications of haemophilia in both developed and developing countries, as well as new anticoagulants and the management of thrombosis.

Hélène Schoemans is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at KU Leuven. She is also a full staff member of the hematology department and bone marrow transplant unit at Gasthuisberg, UZ Leuven. Prof. Schoemans completed her training as a Medical Doctor in 2001 at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and became a board certified hematologist in 2009. She defended her PhD thesis titled "Rethinking Care after Cure in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation using e-Health and patient reported outcomes" in 2019 at KU Leuven. She also gathered expertise through international internships at the Université de Montréal (Canada) in 2000, the University of Minnesota (USA) in 2005 and the National Institutes of Health (USA) in 2015. Her research and clinical interests include GVHD, eHealth, survivorship issues and patient participation in research.

Bram Sciot received his training at the university hospitals in Leuven and graduated as a hematologist in 2021. He is currently is at the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt and ZOL hospital in Genk, as a member of the ‘LOC’. He has a special interest in CLL, lymphoproliferative disorders and multiple myeloma.

Koen Theunissen graduated as a Physician at the KU Leuven in 1994, and continued his training in Internal Medicine, and further on in Hematology in Leuven and Minneapolis. He joined the Stem Cell Institute in Minnesota in 1998 and received a laboratory training in hematopoietic stem cell biology under the guidance of Prof C Verfaillie. He joined the Hematology staff of the UZ Leuven as an associate head of Clinic from 2002 to 2007, with a special interest in apheresis, cell therapy, and transplantation. In 2007 he joined the Hematology staff of the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt and the LOC ( Limburgs Oncologisch Centrum), and became Head of Department in 2011. Besides the clinical work, he has been involved in JAICE as a clinical and collection inspector, and has served on the Standards review committee on several rounds. He is an active member of several professional societies, and is on the editorial board of the Belgian Hematological Journal. He joined the BHS board in 2019, where he serves as Webmaster and educational councilor. He authored and co authored several p reviewed papers. Besides Intensive Hematological Treatments and cellular therapies, his professional interests are focused on quality initiatives and clinical research.