Carla Hollak, appointed as Professor of Medicines and Society on May 1st of 2024, has been chosen as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The Academy’s approximately 600 members are leading scientists and scholars active in every discipline. Membership is for life. The 17 new members will be installed on Monday 30 September.
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Since the 1990s, Carla Hollak has focused her research on rare metabolic diseases in adult patients, in particular lysosomal storage diseases. In 2008 she became professor of Metabolic Diseases, in particular hereditary metabolic diseases, at the University of Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC. Previously, in 2004, she set up an outpatient clinic for adult patients and, together with other UMCs, developed a network to draw up guidelines for treatment. Hollak is a great supporter of independent research, this led to international publications and consensus on the effective use of often expensive treatments. She then used that experience for research into better access and affordability of medicines for rare diseases, including alternative routes of production and reimbursement.
Affordability of medicines
Hollak gained national fame when, together with the hospital pharmacy of Amsterdam UMC, she ensured that a medicine for a rare disease remained available through a pharmacy preparation. This resulted in the establishment of the Medicine for Society platform in 2019. Hollak links science to practice: from academic product development to regulatory access processes. Hollak is highly appreciated as a figurehead of socially committed medicine and a driving force behind the discussion about the accessibility and affordability of medicines.
Academy Medal
Carla Hollak also received the Academy Medal from KNAW in 2023. The KNAW awards the Academy Medal once every two years to a person who has made a special contribution to the cause of Dutch science.