VUA Vereniging voor christelijk hoger onderwijs wetenschappelijk onderzoek en patientenzorg
De Boelelaan 1105  | P.O. Box 7057
1081 HV   | 1007 MB
Amsterdam

The Netherlands

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Project Leader

Prof. Dr. Adriaan Lammertsma Phone: +31-(0)20-444 4214  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 3090  Contact

Project Staff

Dr. Ronald Boellaard Clinical physicist / head physics section  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 9638  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 3090  Contact

Femke Froklage Phone: +31-20-444 5214  Contact

Dr. Harry Hendrikse Radiopharmacist  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 3999  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 3525  Contact

Ms Nikie Hoetjes Research assistant data analysis  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 5240  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 3090  Contact

Dr. Mark Lubberink Clinical physicist / coordinator PET physics  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 4346  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 3090  Contact

Dr. Gert Luurtsema Radiochemist / coordinator metabolite analysis  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 3999  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 3090  Contact

Dr. Carla Molthoff Biologist / coordinator PET biology  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 9291  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 9121  Contact

Prof. Dr. Philip Scheltens Professor of Neurology / Head Alzheimer Centre  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 3222  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 0715  Contact

Mr Robert Schuit Research technician radiochemistry  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 3996  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 3090  Contact

Ms Danielle Van Assema Clinical research fellow neurology  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 0685  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 3090  Contact

Dr. Bart Van Berckel Nuclear medicine physician / coordinator neuroPET / WP leader  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 1948  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 4329  Contact

Mr Joost Verbeek PhD student radiochemistry  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 9720  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 9121  Contact

Dr. Bert Windhorst Radiochemist / coordinator tracer development and production  Phone: +31-(0)20-444 9707  Fax: +31-(0)20-444 9121  Contact

Institute Presentation

The Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET Research of the VUA Vereniging voor christelijk hoger onderwijs wetenschappelijk onderzoek en patientenzorg in Amsterdam is dedicated to both development and application of molecular imaging procedures with emphasis on PET.  This mission is reflected in the multi-disciplinary character of the department, which consists of radiochemists, radiopharmacists, biologists, physicists, computer scientists and nuclear medicine physicians.
 
The department is equipped with one PET/CT and two PET scanners, one of them being a High Resolution Research Tomograph (HRRT).  The latter scanner enables studies with high spatial resolution.  For radiochemistry purposes the department has access to four on-site cyclotrons and, apart from the usual radiochemistry facilities, is equipped with a fully (government licensed) GMP compliant hotlab with 6 hotcells. 

Research themes of the department are chemical development of new PET radiotracers, development of new quantitative tracer kinetic PET procedures, use of PET in drug development and evaluation, use of PET for pathophysiological studies in neurology, psychiatry, oncology, cardiology and rheumatology, and medical technology assessment (MTA) of existing PET tracers for both diagnosis and monitoring response to treatment.  To this end the department closely collaborates with a number of departments both within and outside the VUA. There is a particularly strong collaboration with the Departments of Neurology of VUmc, with an important research line focussing on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including ongoing studies on the evaluation of amyloid and inflammation tracers for both early diagnosis of AD and monitoring response to treatment. Epilepsy research is carried out in an ongoing collaboration with both the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Leiden and SEIN, the Dutch National Institute for Epilepsy.

The department has extensive expertise with respect to the development (radiochemistry and modelling) and use of (R)-[11C]verapamil, an important tracer within EURIPIDES.