Joop van Gerven appointed as new CCMO chairman
As of 15 June 2017, professor JMA (Joop) van Gerven will assume his duties as the new chairman of the Central Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (CCMO). He has been appointed for a period of four years. Van Gerven has been the interim chairman of the CCMO since 15 June 2016.
‘During my recent period as interim chairman, I have developed a great many ideas which I would like to work out further together with the CCMO’, explains Van Gerven. ‘A great deal is happening in the world of medical-scientific research, not only in the Netherlands but also in Europe and the rest of the world. The pace of scientific developments is continuing to accelerate, and legislation and regulations on research involving human subjects are undergoing thorough revision, especially in the area of pharmaceutical research. It is essential for patients and researchers to remain in touch with these developments and for us to make the best possible use of the opportunities that these changes can bring with them. I am very happy that I have gained the necessary trust to be given the opportunity to work on making this happen. It gives me great joy to dedicate myself to the challenge of further strengthening the important role that the CCMO will be playing in these developments during the coming years.’
Joop van Gerven (1958) completed his medical studies at the University of Utrecht, where he obtained his Dr of Medicine degree in 1984. In 1990, he obtained his PhD degree at the University of Leiden after completing a dissertation on diabetes mellitus. He specialised in neurology at the institution now called the Erasmus MC Rotterdam. Since 1994, he has worked as a neurologist at Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC). In 1994, he was also appointed director of CNS research at the Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) in Leiden. In 1997, he obtained formal certification as a clinical pharmacologist. Since 2004, he has also been professor of psychoneuropharmacology at the University of Leiden. Since 1 January 2011, Joop van Gerven has also served as a member of the CCMO as a clinical pharmacologist, and has served as interim chairman since 15 June 2016. Van Gerven will continue to fulfil his duties at the CHDR and the LUMC.