Dr. J. (Joffrey) van Prehn, MD, PhD

I am a specialist at LUCID Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention. My work involves overseeing bacterial diagnostics at the clinical microbiology laboratory and co-supervising the Infection Control Unit. We advise physicians on diagnostic testing and perform consultations on antibiotic treatment. Within LUMC I am an active member of the Infection, Tuberculosis and Antibiotic treatment committees. My research focus is on C. difficile, molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance of bacterial infections, host microbiota interactions and infection control. To this end I work with the Experimental Bacteriology, CMAT, NDFB and Molecular diagnostics groups. I am an active member of the European Study group for C. difficile (ESGCD), where I initiate projects and with whom I published several papers. The 2021 European treatment guidance document for C. difficile of the European society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) was drafted and coordinated by me.

My research is on C. difficile, molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance, host-microbiota interactions and infection control, which are embedded in the theme infection and linked with the Experimental Bacteriology, Center for Microbiota Analysis and Therapy, and the Netherlands Donor Feces Bank. I co-head the LUCID microbiome cluster. I coordinate C. difficile national surveillance conducted by RIVM and LUMC. Surveillance activities go under the National Expertise Center for C. difficile infections. We collaborate with the European Center for Disease Control and other reference centers worldwide. Microbiota research includes complications after faecal transplants. In collaboration with the Neurology department, an exploratory line of research has been set up to study the role of microbiota in Parkinson’s disease (PD). I am co-PI of a randomized FMT study in PD and investigate the gut and biliary microbiome after Whipple surgery in collaboration with the department of Surgery.