AMS will be offering PhD grants later this year, for travels to visit e.g. labs or university (hospitals) in the Netherlands or abroad. Are you interested? Read on to find out about Lukas Verweij’s experiences from his visit to Japan earlier this year. Watch this space for more information on the open call.

Lukas Verweij in Japan

Lukas Verweij, a PhD candidate at the department of Orthopedics at Amsterdam UMC, was in November 2022 given an AMS financed ‘Dare to Dream’ grant of €5.000* to visit the Department of Orthopedics of Tohoku University Hospital (TUH) in Sendai, Japan. Below is a short summary of his stay as a visiting scientist at TUH, in Sendai, Japan.

Lukas visited TUH from February - July 2023, and during this time he conducted research on shoulder dislocations under the supervision of Dr. Yamamoto, one of the most renowned researchers in the field, who laid the foundations for an important method used to estimate the risk of a new dislocation (re-dislocation). At TUH they have expertise in biomechanical research and 3D analysis, which matched Lukas’ PhD topic. Lukas was well received at TUH and took part in a study that focused on the accuracy of measurement of a bony lesion. Cut very short, the study concluded that the measurement method showed high precision, but not good accuracy and should not be used in clinical practice. You can read the full research results when the paper has been published, it will be submitted to the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.

The Japanese culture, being very different to Dutch, provided a barrier, as Japanese speak little to no English. However, Lukas had learned a bit Japanese before he left for Japan, and also followed a Japanese course offered by the city of Sendai which helped him in his communication, both professionally and socially. He also learned that Japanese culture is full of rules that are difficult to grasp as a visitor, but his colleagues were very helpful and understanding. Lukas ran the Sendai half marathon together with the colleagues from his research group, including the professor, on a hot summer’s day (28°C).

During his visit, Lukas made the most of the beautiful Japanese nature, experiencing the famous Japanese powder snow for skiing trips or hikes in the weekends. Japan offers beautiful landscapes and vistas; Lukas climbed mount Fuji to watch the sunrise, and saw Japanese trees that can be up to 1.000 years old. Lukas is now back at the Department of Orthopedics in Amsterdam UMC, working on his PhD.

On the picture are Lukas and his colleagues at UTH. Everyone in the picture agreed to the picture being used for publication.

UPDATE: The travel call is open, CLICK for more information.

*Lukas had additional funding to finance his visit to TUH.