The Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care

Background

The Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care is part of the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht). It carries out scientific research, provides education, and offers expertise and facilities in the area of clinical health sciences.

Experience

The Center is a leader in the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge in health sciences and primary care, engaging in groundbreaking research across four main fields of interest:

Cardiovascular diseases
Infectious diseases
Oncology and genetics
Mental health

These fields of interest are studied through a range of scientific disciplines:

Clinical epidemiology
Public health
Medical technology assessment
General practice
Nursing sciences
Nutrition sciences

Capabilities

The Julius Center's research portfolio currently comprises more than 200 projects, ranging from the coordination of large international trials and cohorts (eg. The DOM cohort, Prospect-EPIC), to projects addressing etiological, diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic research questions relevant to health practitioners and policy makers.

The Center's research activities are supported by extensive, integrated research services and data management teams and have direct access to a number of large research populations, infrastructures and relevant departments of UMC Utrecht.

The yearly scientific output comprises 20-30 PhD theses, some in cooperation with other research groups in- and outside Utrecht University, over 300 international peer-reviewed publications and 150 books, bookchapters and other professional publications.

Research outcomes are disseminated by the Center's extensive clinical health sciences advisory function both inside and outside UMC Utrecht. The Center's clinical epidemiologists are involved in the setup and analysis of patient oriented research in almost all of the university's clinical departments. The Center's staff also play an advisory role in the set-up and improvement of health care systems through their role in bodies such as the Medical Technology Assessment (MTA) group.

A further means of dissemination is the Center's education program. The Center runs or participates in education and training at undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate and post-academic levels in medical science, general practise, nursing, public health and clinical epidemiology.

Contacts

Diederick E. (Rick) Grobbee
MD PhD
Rick Grobbee is Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at Utrecht University, Director of the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, and co-Director of the Image Sciences Institute at the University Medical Center, Utrecht. As a principal investigator in many large-scale epidemiologic studies and randomized trials of interventions, he has published more than 680 scientific papers and is on the editorial boards of several international medical journals and national and international scientific committees. He has worked with major pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Merck, Glaxo-Smith-Kline, Organon, Novartis and Servier.

Annette Bak
MD PhD
Annette Bak has 20 years experience in project management and operations for clinical trials. She has held responsibility for the execution of over 100 clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and government institutions. At the Julius Center she supervises the quality control and assurance systems and has a broad experience in adherence to GCP/ICH, certifications and regulatory matters.