Let us know who you think should receive the award this year by entering your vote before December 23. All three nominees have made an obvious and impressive contribution to society as is shown in the short movies displayed below. All employees of Amsterdam UMC are invited to help to decide who will become the Societal Impact Award winner of 2022 by voting for your ultimate Societal Impact Award nominee.
Hilgo Bruining
One in 5 children is currently labelled with a developmental diagnosis, one in fifteen receives symptomatic medication and thousands are unable to attend school. To improve the perspective and societal participation of these children, Hilgo Bruining founded the N=You precision center. Together with parents and other disciplines, an integrated N=You profile and digital dashboard has been developed to understand both individual needs and potential of each individual child. Using this approach, an EEG based method was published this year to predict who can benefit from certain farmacological and non-farmacological treatments. To make N=You maximally inclusive, the Emma Breinbus went on the road to visit and monitor children at home who are unable to come to the hospital.
These innovations attracted widespread media attention including Nieuwsuur, newspapers and even ‘teletekst’.
Harald Jørstad
This is the central question that Harald Jørstad (42), cardiologist at the Amsterdam UMC and the Dutch Olympic Center (Papendal) has focused on in the five years since he obtained his Cardiologist registration. While the health benefits of sports have been comprehensively documented, next to nothing is known about the cardiac limits of sports, both in healthy and non-healthy hearts.
Harald Jørstad’s research and clinical work comprises the complete spectrum of patients and athletes: from patients with severe heart disease to recreational and elite sports. His work is regularly covered by major (inter-)national media outlets. His ‘extreme phenotyping’ approach during the coronavirus pandemic demonstrated that sports, even extreme levels, can be safely resumed after COVID-19, also in the minority of patients with COVID-19 myocardial damage. His work has impacted millions in the Netherlands wishing to return to sports after COVID-19.
Marlies Schijven
Marlies aims to build bridges between various clinical practices, professionals and the patient using digital technology. This year, Marlies initiated a new overarching research program, Digital Health (DH) within Amsterdam Public Health. She felt such a research program was in urgent need, as digitalization (e.g. use of virtual reality solutions, apps, and artificial intelligence in the workplace) is rapidly increasing in cure and care. DH aims to catalyze research and foster collaborations with the ethical domain, medical informatics, law and industry. This, to improve health, provision of healthcare and health equity for all.
For the third year in a row, Marlies is nominated for this Award, which is unprecedented. And reflective of her ability to positively, visibly and markedly impact society.