Dr. Filip Baert, M.D., PhD
AZ Delta campus Rumbeke Roeselare
Prof. Dr. Ailsa Hart, M.D., PhD
St Mark's Hospital, Harrow, UK- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College, London, UK
Dr. David Drobne, M.D., PhD
University Medical Centre Ljubljana & Medical University Ljubljana
David Drobne graduated in 2004 at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. After finishing his clinical training in gastroenterology, he obtained the position of consultant gastroenterologist at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia. Since 2016 he has been the head of Outpatient Unit of our Department. After being a part of the Leuven IBD group during 2010-2011, he obtained his PhD degree in 2016. An important part of his work is also academic work at the Faculty of Medicine. He is a staff member at the Department of Internal Medicine, with his current position being Assistant Professor. His research is focused on pharmacokinetics of biologicals in inflammatory bowel disease. Since 2019 he have been leading the national IBD research group SING (Slovenian IBD National Study Group), whose main mission is to unite IBD research at the country level.
Prof. Dr. Jo Lambert, M.D., PhD
UZ Gent
Prof. Dr. Séverine Vermeire, M.D., PhD
UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg / KU Leuven
Prof. Dr. Marc Ferrante, M.D., PhD
UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg / KU Leuven
Prof. Dr. Marc Ferrante is full professor at KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) and staff member of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University Hospitals Leuven since 2012. His main research topics include intestinal organoids, biological therapy, postoperative recurrence, endoscopy, and quality of care. Marc Ferrante published more than 240 papers in high ranked gastroenterology journals (H index: 46). For his work, he has received numerous research grants and he was awarded as Rising Star in Gastroenterology at the European Congress of Gastroenterology in 2014. Marc Ferrante holds a basic-clinical research position at the Flemish Foundation for Scientific Research (FWO Vlaanderen). He is member of the Scientific Committees of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) and the Belgian IBD Research and Development (BIRD) group.
Dr. Michael Somers, M.D.
UZ Antwerpen
Michaël Somers graduated in 2011 as a medical doctor at the University of Antwerp. After completing his training in gastroenterology in 2017, he started working as a gastroenterologist in the University Hospital of Antwerp (UZA). In 2018, he worked as a fellow at the gastroenterology department of the University Hospital of Leuven for six months, extending his clinical experience in the management and treatment of IBD patients. He is currently working at the IBD clinic of the department of gastroenterology and hepatology of University Hospital of Antwerp. Michaël Somers is member of EduCom in the Belgian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research and Development (BIRD) group.
Dr. Jeroen Geldof, M.D.
UZ Gent
Jeroen Geldof is a consultant at the IBD unit of the Ghent University Hospital. After graduating as a gastroenterologist at the Ghent University in 2019, he completed an IBD fellowship at the St Mark's hospital in London under the wings of prof. dr. Ailsa Hart. He has a particular interest for perianal Crohn's disease both from a medical as from a proctosurgical viewpoint.
Prof. Dr. Catherine Reenaers, M.D., PhD
CHU de Liège site Sart-Tilman
Professor Catherine Reenaers is a senior gastroenterologist at the University hospital of Liege, Belgium. She completed her specialist training in the University hospital of Liège and was a research assistant and research fellow of the Belgian fund of research (FNRS) from 2004 to 2011. Her PhD studied the impact of osteoprotegerin on T cells/dendritic cells interaction and bone remodeling and the role of fibroblasts’ apoptosis on fibrosis in IBD. After her PhD, Professor Reenaers was a Senior Clinical and Research Fellow of Dr Travis at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. She returned to Liège to take a permanent position as IBD specialist where she works with Professor Edouard Louis. She is associated professor and has a charge of course at the university of Liège. She is part of several scientific associations including the scientific committee of BIRD (Belgian Intestinal Research and Developpment group) and the educational committee of the GETAID (groupe d'Etude Thérapeutique des Affections Inflammatoires du Tube Digestif). She was the ECCO (European Crohn and Colitis Organisation) national representative from 2012 till 2020. Pr Reenaers has obtained several scientific awards in Belgian and European conferences and has given many lectures for different scientific societies including outside Belgium. She contributed to more than 65 papers in international reviews including 11 papers as first or last author.
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Shaji, M.D., F.R.C.P.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals
Mrs. Eveline Hoefkens, IBD Nurse
Imeldaziekenhuis
Eveline Hoefkens graduated in 2008 as Master in Veterinary Medicine. After 2 years of clinical practice she started as a scientific researcher in the IBD Leuven research lab of Prof. Vermeire where she gained her interest in IBD. While working she started her nursing studies. She graduated in nursing from the Thomas More, Lier in 2015. Additionaly she studied one year to specialize as an oncology nurse. In March 2015 she started as a pneumology/respiratory oncology nurse. Since September 2016 she is working as an IBD nurse at the Imelda hospital Bonheiden. From October 2018 she is president of the Belgian IBD nurses and study coordinators association (BINAstoria) and national representative for N-ECCO.
Dr. Gabriele Bislenghi, M.D.
UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg / KU Leuven
Gabriele Bislenghi graduated in 2009 as medical doctor at the University of Milan. He completed a training in abdominal surgery (Italy) and general surgery (Belgium). From 2017 to 2019 he worked as colorectal fellow at the abdominal surgery department of the University Hospitals of Leuven. He is currently working as stafmember colorectal surgery at the same department.
His clinical activity is mainly focused on surgical treatment of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, proctology and perianal fistulas.
He is currently engaged in clinical researches around (surgical) prevention of postoperative recurrence after bowel resection for Crohn’s disease and treatment of Crohn’s associated perianal fistulas.
Dr. Anneline Cremer, M.D., PhD
Hôpital Erasme
Anneline Cremer (1985) graduated in medicine from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium) in 2010 with summa cum laude. She completed her training in Gastroenterology in 2017. Her strong interest for Gastroenterology and more specifically for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has grown over the years. During her last year in medical school, she spent 6 months in the Laboratory of Experimental Gastroenterology (LGE), ULB, in Brussels working on a basic immunology project. She started her clinical training in 2010, and started her Gastroenterology training in October 2013 in the Department of Gastroenterology of Tivoli Hospital (La Louvière) for six months followed by one year and a half in the Department of Gastroenterology of ULB-Erasme Hospital. She received a doctoral research fellowship (October 2015-April 2020) from the Fonds Erasme (ULB) and she is still working on translational IBD research projects under supervision of Prof Denis Franchimont. She also participated as co- or principal investigator in clinical trials in the field of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis since November 2015. She is currently working in the IBD clinic of the Department of Gastroenterology of ULB-Erasme Hospital.
Anneline is actively involved in several national scientific organizations. She is a Board member of BIRD (Belgian IBD Research and Development) and chairs Scicom. She is also a Board member of the SRBGE (Société Royale Belge de Gastroentérologie).
Mrs. Katrien Asnong, IBD Nurse
Imeldaziekenhuis
Katrien Asnong graduated in 2000 as Master in Science of Nursing at the Catholic University of Leuven, after she got her degree in nursing in 1997. She started working as study nurse in the IBD ward of Prof. Rutgeerts of the University Hospitals of Leuven where she built her experience within IBD. After 5 years, she made the switch to the private sector as CRA and Project Leader within the medical devices. However, the lack of patient contact and hands-on work made her decide to go back to the IBD patients.
In 2014, she reinforced the IBD clinic of Dr. Bossuyt in the Imelda Hospital of Bonheiden, where she is coordinating clinical trials in Crohn and Colitis in the team of study nurses. She has been a member of BINAstoria since the merge of the study nurses with the IBD nurses in June 2019, and a board member since November 2019.
Mrs. Noortje Straetemans, IBD Nurse
AZ Vesalius
In 2010, Noortje Straetemans received her Bachelor degree in Nursing, with specialization in Social Nursing. She has always had a specific interest in the guidance and education of patients with chronic illnesses. In January 2019, She started as an IBD nurse in AZ Vesalius Tongeren. Since then, She has tried to educate herself in the pathology, treatment and education of patients by attending various symposia and delving into the literature. As a member of Binastoria, she also feels it is important to constantly educate herself and keep up to date with new developments. Her main focus is on patient-centered care and patient well-being.
Mr. Kevin Plovie, IBD Nurse
AZ Oostende
Prof. Dr. Harald Peeters, M.D., PhD
AZ Sint-Lucas Gent
Harald Peeters, MD, PhD, is a gastroenterologist at the St Lucas Hospital in Ghent, where he is also vice-president of the Medical Board. He has a special interest in IBD and together with 2 colleagues and an IBD-nurse he runs the local IBD clinic. He is member of ECCO and BIRD since many years . In BIRD he is being part of the eductional committee (Educom). H Peeters is reviewer for several international peer-reviewed journals and for ECCO and UEGW abstracts and grants. He is associate editor for Acta Gastroenterologica Belgica. Furthermore, he is also associate professor at the faculty of Medicine at the University of Ghent.
Prof. Dr. Jean-François Rahier, M.D., PhD
CHU UCL Namur site Godinne
Jean-François Rahier was born in Belgium in 1975. He obtained his diploma of medical doctor cum laude in 2000 from the University of Louvain (UCL) and specialized in Gastroenterology in 2007. He was first trained by Pr O Dewit in Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc in 2005 and then by Pr JF Colombel in Lille in 2006-2007. Besides, he had a part-time research activity in 2008-2013 at the INSERM U995 laboratory of Professor Desreumaux in Lille (France) where he obtained his PhD on “lymphangiogenesis in IBD” in 2014. He is working at the University Hospital CHU UCL Namur in Belgium where his clinical activity is focused on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and also acted between 2014 and 2018 as consultant for phase II-III clinical trials in CHU Liège (Pr E Louis). In 2009 and 2014, he was the leading author for the European consensus on management and prevention of opportunistic infection in IBD. He has authored or co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed manuscript and is part of the scientific and executive committee of I-CARE. He is reviewer for international journals such as GUT, Gastroenterology, JCC, APT, CGH and others. He is an active member of the Belgian IBD Group where he acted as President in 2017-2020, of the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation and of the GETAID (France).
Dr. Lieven Pouillon, M.D.
Imeldaziekenhuis
Dr Lieven Pouillon is a gastroenterologist-hepatologist at the IBD Clinic and GI Clinical Research Centre, Imelda General Hospital, Bonheiden, Belgium
Dr Pouillon graduated as a gastroenterologist at K.U. Leuven (Belgium). He completed a one-year IBD fellowship at CHRU Nancy in France, before joining the IBD unit at Imelda General Hospital Bonheiden (Belgium) in 2018. He has (co-)authored >40 publications (h-index 14), presented at >10 international congresses, and has clinical trial experience as a principal and sub-investigator in over 25 international trials. Dr Pouillon is an elected member of the educational committee of the Belgian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research and Development Group (BIRD) and serves as a reviewer for several leading gastroenterology journals, including CGH, AP&T and JCC.
Dr. Romy Ouziel, M.D., PhD
CHU de Charleroi Hôpital Civil Marie Curie
Romy Ouziel (1980) graduated from medical school in 2006 at Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Then, she started her training in internal medicine. From 2008 to 2012, she worked as an FNRS fellow researcher at the Laboratory of Experimental Gastroenterology (ULB). After, she continued her internship in Gastroenterology in Erasme Hospital and finished her research with a part-time doctoral research fund from the Fonds Erasme (ULB). In 2015, Romy obtained her PhD thesis on “Vitamins A and D in alcoholic liver diseases” and her diploma in Gastroenterology (ULB). Her interest and clinical practice in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) developed and grew as she worked in the IBD unit of the Department of Gastroenterology, Erasme Hospital.
In October 2016, Romy started to work in Charleroi, CHU Marie Curie, with her main clinical practice in the field of IBD.
Prof. Dr. Triana Lobaton, M.D., PhD
UZ Gent
Triana Lobatón finished her training as gastroenterologist in Barcelona in 2010. During this training she spent 2 months at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York (USA). In 2015 she obtained her PhD on "Fecal calprotectin as a surrogate marker of disease activity in IBD patients" at the University of Barcelona. As part of her PhD program, she did a fellowship (2013-2014) at Leuven University Hospital under the supervision of Prof. Séverine Vermeire.
Her clinical activity and research are focused on IBD, in particular clinical projects. Since 2018 Triana Lobatón is working at Ghent University Hospital and currently leading the IBD unit in this centre. In 2019 she became assistant professor at the University of Gent. She has been coordinator of the young GETECCU (Spanish group of Crohn and Colitis), and she is also involved in several ECCO activities. She is currently one of the members of Educom from BIRD and national representative for BIRD at ECCO.
Mrs. Sophie Claeys, IBD Nurse
AZ Sint-Lucas Gent
Mrs. Charlotte Minsart, PhD, Clinical Research Assistant
Hôpital Erasme
Mrs. Katrien Asnong, IBD Nurse
Imeldaziekenhuis
Katrien Asnong graduated in 2000 as Master in Science of Nursing at the Catholic University of Leuven, after she got her degree in nursing in 1997. She started working as study nurse in the IBD ward of Prof. Rutgeerts of the University Hospitals of Leuven where she built her experience within IBD. After 5 years, she made the switch to the private sector as CRA and Project Leader within the medical devices. However, the lack of patient contact and hands-on work made her decide to go back to the IBD patients.
In 2014, she reinforced the IBD clinic of Dr. Bossuyt in the Imelda Hospital of Bonheiden, where she is coordinating clinical trials in Crohn and Colitis in the team of study nurses. She has been a member of BINAstoria since the merge of the study nurses with the IBD nurses in June 2019, and a board member since November 2019.
Mrs. Noortje Streatemans, IBD Nurse
AZ Vesalius
In 2010, Noortje Straetemans received her Bachelor degree in Nursing, with specialization in Social Nursing. She has always had a specific interest in the guidance and education of patients with chronic illnesses. In January 2019 she started as an IBD nurse in AZ Vesalius Tongeren. Since then, she educated herself in the pathology, treatment and education of patients by attending various symposia and delving into the literature. As a member of Binastoria, she also feels it is important to constantly educate herself and keep up to date with new developments. Her main focus is on patient-centered care and patient well-being.
Mr. Kevin Plovie, IBD Nurse
AZ Oostende