Olaf Klungel appointed Professor of Pharmacoepidemiologic Methods

The Executive Board of Utrecht University has appointed Dr. Olaf Klungel as Professor of Pharmacoepidemiologic Methods at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS). Prof. Klungel will also work one day per week at UMC Utrecht’s Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care. Dr. Klungel is an expert in the field of research methods into the effects and risks of pharmaceuticals. His appointment will be a major addition to the UIPS division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology, which contributes to Utrecht University’s strategic theme of Life Sciences.

Olaf Klungel (1969) is a globally respected expert in the development, improvement and evaluation of statistical and epidemiological methods for determining the beneficial and harmful effects of pharmaceuticals. This field of study deals with research into the fundamentals of large, routinely registered electronic health data, research cohorts and biobanks, which is conducted after medicines have been released to the market. “This is very important, because only then can we properly ascertain the adverse effects and effectiveness of medicines in daily practice”, explains Klungel.

Optimal

Two people who are very pleased with Dr. Klungel’s appointment are Prof. Ton de Boer, head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Utrecht University, and Prof. Arno Hoes, chair of the Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care. “The Julius Centre has had close contact with the UIPS Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology for many years. With this new post and the combined appointment, we will be able to optimally reinforce one another”, according to Hoes.

Centre for Research Methods

The professorship in Pharmacoepidemiologic Methods is part of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Within this division, Prof. Klungel is the managing director of the Centre for Research Methods. At the Julius Centre, he will contribute to the methodology research programme under the leadership of Prof. Carl Moons.

Mondriaan Health Research Data

Dr. Klungel joined the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1999, where his duties included serving as the Scientific Manager of the TI Pharma Mondriaan Project, which aims to make routinely recorded health data better accessible for pharmacoepidemiology research. He currently serves on the board of the Mondriaan Health Research Data Foundation. In addition to research, Prof. Klungel develops and provides education in the field of pharmacoepidemiology to students of medicine and pharmacology within the Master’s programmes Pharmaceutical Sciences, Drug Innovation, and Epidemiology, and the European Programme in Pharmacovigiliance & Pharmacoepidemiology. Dr. Klungel earned his PhD. at Utrecht University in 1994, under the supervision of Prof. Albert Bakker.