Carmen Vleggeert-Lankamp appointed professor

The neurosurgical clinic at LUMC is a reference clinic for spinal disorders. Together with her colleagues, Vleggeert-Lankamp treats patients with spinal problems ranging from a herniated disc in the low back to congenital defects in achondroplasia.

Innovative research

In addition, she conducts scientific research within the clinic for continuous innovation of spine care. Not only does she find it challenging to investigate the “sense and nonsense” of spinal surgery, but she derives particular satisfaction from supervising her PhD students.

Education

As an actively involved board member of the Cervical Spine Research Society Europe (president), Eurospine and the Dutch Society for Neurosurgery (chairman), Vleggeert-Lankamp is also closely involved in education in the field of spinal disorders to students, resident physicians and spinal surgeons.

With great enthusiasm, she set up the half minor “Spine and head” that is offered annually to undergraduate medical students at LUMC/ Leiden University. Several times a year, she gives lectures and hands-on courses to an international audience. The aim is to expand the teaching to a wider audience in the coming years.

Resume

Carmen Vleggeert-Lankamp received her pharmacy degree in 1995, after successfully graduating in pharmacy from Utrecht University in 1993. In 1998 she obtained her medical degree, after which she completed her training as a neurosurgeon from 1998 to 2006, in a so-called AGIKO construct, and obtained her doctorate on the evaluation of peripheral nerve regeneration. In 2006, she began to specialize in spine surgery.

Currently, Vleggeert-Lankamp coordinates a research group with several PhD students working on various research topics ranging from cervical to lumbar and degenerative to congenital spine diseases. She focuses on evaluation studies of spine care, and conducts research on the etiology of radiculopathy and stenosis (combination immunological, clinical chemical, radiological and clinical outcomes) ultimately leading to prediction models.