Head of Department of Neurology
Prof. Dr. J.J.G.M. Verschuuren
Area(s) of expertise:
Neurology
Neurology
Introduction
I work as a neurologist at LUMC with a specialization in neuromuscular diseases. I am registered as an immunologist with the SMBWO. I am head of the clinical neuromuscular section of the Department of Neurology and head of the neurology department.
I have always had a keen interest in neurology, basic neuroscience and immunology. I completed my PhD in 1989 entitled "Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis. Antibodies, idiotypes and anti-idiotypes" and was subsequently trained as a neurologist at MaastrichtUMC+. After a postdoctoral position at
the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York(1994-1995) I started as a staff member at the Department of Neurology in the LUMC. Since 2017, I have been head of the Department and chair of the Neuroscience Research Theme at LUMC since 2020.
Since my introduction to laboratory research during my PhD research on experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis, I have been involved in translational research on different forms of autoimmune myasthenia (MG).
I have always had a keen interest in neurology, basic neuroscience and immunology. I completed my PhD in 1989 entitled "Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis. Antibodies, idiotypes and anti-idiotypes" and was subsequently trained as a neurologist at MaastrichtUMC+. After a postdoctoral position at
the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York(1994-1995) I started as a staff member at the Department of Neurology in the LUMC. Since 2017, I have been head of the Department and chair of the Neuroscience Research Theme at LUMC since 2020.
Since my introduction to laboratory research during my PhD research on experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis, I have been involved in translational research on different forms of autoimmune myasthenia (MG).
Scientific research
My group serves as a national referral center and we have been involved in clinical, epidemiological, electrophysiological and immunological studies of MG and LEMS. I participate in clinical trials for testing new drugs and treatments of MG or LEMS. I am a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the European Association of Neurology (EAN), the International Society for NeuroImmunology (ISNI), the World Muscle Society, the Dutch Society for Neurology and the Dutch Society for Immunology and an advisor to the Dutch neuromuscular patient organization (Vereniging Spierziekten Nederland). I received the 2018 Duchenne Award from the Dutch patient organization Duchenne Parent Project, and was named Best Lecturer of 2021 at the annual Biemond course of the Dutch Society of Neurology. I was invited to deliver the Krembil Brain Institute Invitationd Lecture, University of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (2023) and the annual Baldwin Lecture, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2023).
