Lieke Sanders (professor of immunology and pediatric infectious diseases at UMC Utrecht/WKZ) was awarded the Gorter Medal 2021 during the congress of the Dutch Association of Pediatricians (NVK). In the opinion of the jury, Sanders is the example of a doctor and researcher who shows an unconventional vision within pediatrics and who also has the talent to share her vision. and collaborating with organizations outside the immediate hospital walls. Sanders received the medal from NVK chairman Károly Illy.

Lieke Sanders has an exceptional track record in general pediatrics, immunology and public health care in the Netherlands and abroad. As a pediatric immunologist she has worked since her early years for patients and parents visiting the pediatric immunology department of the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital. She has also made a valuable contribution as a committee member of the interuniversity working group on immune deficiencies and the Dutch Association for Immunology. In addition, she has more than 20 years of experience researching the effectiveness and immunogenicity of vaccines. This has resulted in shaping the National Immunization Programme in the Netherlands. Sanders was always looking for maximum utilization of the possibilities within the National Immunization Program and minimal burden on children and parents.

Scientific research

She has also been committed to education in the field of vaccinations for many years. With regard to scientific research, she is the author of more than 300 papers, more than 250 of which have been published in international peer-reviewed journals, including the NEJM, JAMA, Lancet and Nature Communications. Evidenced by over 9,000 citations and an H-index of 50, these articles have been of significant importance to the international field.

Early visionary

She proved to be an early visionary, especially regarding the possibility that vaccination schedules are not static but dynamic over time and may be adjusted based on advancing understanding, as well as changes in community pathogen circulation. Reduced vaccination schedules within the National Vaccination Program have been placed on the agenda and implemented partly due to Lieke's work and vision.

Outside the walls

Her long-term and intensive collaboration with National Institute of Public Health (RIVM) in the Netherlands has been an example of how pediatricians can collaborate more broadly than only within the walls of the hospital. Since the beginning of this century she has been conducting increasing research with RIVM into the immunity, timing and ecological effects of different types of meningococcal, pneumococcal and pertussis vaccines. Ultimately, her passion for this social topic led her to a leading role within RIVM in 2015, where she has held the position of Chief Science Officer ever since. This has enabled it to provide even more active and broader guidance to scientific research with output leading directly to social benefit.

Collaboration

Sanders was ahead of her time with her conviction that collaboration between academia and non-academic hospitals has enormous added value. This is also what the NVK is now trying to encourage and facilitate with the Partnership for Pediatrics in the Netherlands (SPIN). Since the late 1990s, she has conducted more than 28 studies in collaboration with top clinical hospitals. As part of her research, she has supervised more than 50 PhD students. She did this with a lot of passion and knowledge and many have been able to learn from her experience. Here too her great talent for collaboration, education and research within (pediatric) medicine and beyond is apparent.

New Generation

Her broad social interest and sense of responsibility are also apparent from her extensive work for the Dutch Health Council. Since 2010, as a member of various committees on infectious diseases and vaccination, she has participated in discussions relevant to society and has provided sound advice on this.

Her contributions to science committees within the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, in particular the Ter Meulen Fund (KNAW), and various other research funds within NWO/ZonMw not only show how much her expertise is valued, but also show her commitment to the training and selection of the new generation of young researchers.

Her ongoing involvement in and interest in pediatrics as a broad field is further underlined by her commitment to the NVK, where in recent years she has helped shape the program of the annual national NVK Congress as a member of the congress committee.

Eye for people

According to the jury, Lieke Sanders is a model of a doctor and researcher who has already shown an unconventional vision early in her career, often ahead of her time. In addition, she has had the talent to share her vision and collaborate with organizations outside the direct hospital walls. Her highly thought-out and scientifically substantiated vision has led to the renewal of knowledge through research and also to the implementation of this knowledge. She has contributed in many ways to educating and coaching a new generation of physicians and researchers within and outside of pediatrics. In addition, she has an eye for the person behind the professional and for the culture within the hospital. With her combination of strength and talent, her capacity for empathy and her pleasant way of communicating, she is an example for many. She is therefore a worthy bearer of the Gorter Medal.

About the Gorter medal

In principle, the Gorter Medal (named after prof. Gorter, a Dutch scientist who became in 1915 the first pediatrician in the Netherlands) is awarded every three years to a Dutch pediatrician, a pediatrician working in the Netherlands or someone who is otherwise active in pediatrics because of his or her special merit in this field. This concerns special achievements in the field of science, progress in the field and social involvement in the health of the child.