Dr. H.E. (Hermien) Kan

I am principal investigator and vice director at the CJ Gorter MRI Center of the department of Radiology. My research focuses on developing and applying new MR techniques in various muscle diseases. I am a member of the management team of the Neuroscience Theme of Innovation, member of the exam committee of Biomedical Sciences and member of the Graduate School Council. I obtained the ius promovendus in 2021. Our department receives research support from Philips Healthcare and we conduct clinical trials in collaboration with the Imaging NMD group of the University of Florida.

I did my bachelor and master in kinesiology at the VU in Amsterdam, and obtained my PhD degree at the Radboud UMC. I started my own group on imaging in muscle disease at the LUMC in 2008. My research focuses on developing new MRI methods and applying them in various muscle diseases, including Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy, Myasthenia Gravis and Pompe disease. In close collaboration with the Neurology department, we have set up natural history studies where we focus on finding biomarkers for describing the disease process as well as investigating the pathophysiology. Recent projects focus on the implementation of quantitative MRI in the care of children with a muscular disease, the development of MRI techniques during movement in the MRI scanner and the development of a therapy for patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.