I am a researcher and artist. Since 2012, I spend 10 days each month in Berlin and my remaining time in Amersfoort.
My relationship with Inspire2Live and Alpe d’HuZes goes way back. In 2005-2006 I helped founding the KWF (Dutch Cancer Society) collaboration and pioneered the fund raising, which led to the biggest fundraising event in Dutch history. The project-development of A-Care (assembling, coordinating the review and directing 8 RCT’s for physical rehabilitation of cancer patients) was my first big task. As external director of A-Care (2009-2014) I took up the challenge to make the results of this research available for real patients in real time. As an independent researcher (2014-2017) I created an outreach project in collaboration with the Nederlandse Politiebond (with Saskia Dorrestein and Ad Wennekes). It resulted in my greatest success for cancer patients so far: the establishment of Oncopol (executed by Stichting Tegenkracht with Peter Smeets), on behalf of the Dutch National Police.
My research has been focused on the communication of screening information for breast cancer and prostate cancer. The research took mainly place at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. Currently I am moving to the Technical University of Berlin to become a senior researcher there. I am an associate researcher of the Harding Centre for Risk Literacy in Berlin. My affiliation with the Max Planck Institute continues as a member of the Adaptive Behaviour and Cognition Group, founded by Gerd Gigerenzer and Peter Todd.
I was one of the three founders of Inspire2Live and initiated the Annual Congress. I was its proud organiser in 2011, 2012 and 2013. It is now taking place yearly, in collaboration with the Dutch National Bank and the Dutch Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The impact of disease forced me to step back for several years. After 5 years of absence I rejoined the patient advocates in 2020. I am the chair of the World Campus of Inspire2Live.
