Specialization
Irradiation, brain tumor treatments
Focus of research
Joost Verhoeff is a radiation oncologist and Professor of Radiotherapy at Amsterdam UMC. He is Head of the Department of Radiotherapy, where he leads a multidisciplinary team of more than 350 professionals involved in patient care, research, education, and technological innovation in radiation oncology.
His clinical and scientific work focuses particularly on high-precision radiotherapy for brain tumors and brain metastases, lung cancer, and cardiac arrhythmias. His research aims to improve treatment outcomes while minimizing toxicity and preserving quality of life, with a strong emphasis on personalized treatment strategies, stereotactic radiotherapy, hypofractionation, image-guided and adaptive radiotherapy, and the integration of radiotherapy with systemic therapies.
Verhoeff is principal investigator and collaborator in multiple national and international clinical trials and research programs. His research includes the development and evaluation of innovative radiotherapy approaches for primary and metastatic brain tumors, lung cancer, and non-oncological indications. He is also involved in the clinical implementation of new radiotherapy technologies and workflows and in translating technological innovations into scalable, evidence-based patient care.
A major area of his international research activities is stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR), a non-invasive radiotherapy treatment for patients with severe ventricular arrhythmias. He coordinates the European STOPSTORM consortium, which brings together centers across Europe to generate clinical evidence, standardize treatment, and facilitate the responsible implementation of STAR.
In neuro-oncology, his research addresses optimization of radiotherapy for gliomas and brain metastases, including stereotactic radiosurgery, treatment of patients with multiple brain metastases, radiation-induced toxicity, cognition, patient-reported outcomes, and integration with emerging systemic treatments. In thoracic oncology, his work includes stereotactic body radiotherapy and strategies to improve treatment for both early-stage and locally advanced lung cancer.
Beyond individual clinical studies, Verhoeff has a strong interest in innovation and implementation in radiation oncology. His work explores how artificial intelligence, automation, online adaptive radiotherapy, advanced imaging, and new treatment platforms can improve treatment quality, efficiency, accessibility, and sustainability.
He contributes to national and international radiation oncology collaborations and professional organizations and is actively involved in the supervision of PhD candidates, researchers, residents, and students. His overall academic objective is to translate scientific and technological advances into effective, individualized radiotherapy that improves survival, quality of life, and accessibility of care for patients.
Postdocs:
- Szabolcs David PhD
- Jacquelien Pomp MD PhD
PhD students:
- Pim Damen MD (lung cancer, immune-related toxicity)
- Mathijs Tomassen MD (lung cancer, interstitial lung disease)
- Anouk de Jong MD (glioma, neuro-oncology)
- Arthur van der Boog BS (brain tumors, clinical trials)
- Fia Cialdella MD (brain metastases, neuro-oncology)
- Iris Agterberg MD (esophageal cancer)
- Selena Huisman MSc (brain tumors)
- Felix Ehret (brain tumors)
- Lisca Wurfbain (breast cancer)
Inspired by the international legacy of the historic University of Harderwijk, our department offers flexible PhD trajectories, including opportunities to pursue a substantial part of the doctoral program remotely. This enables talented researchers from around the world to join our academic community while remaining connected to their home institution and clinical environment.