02 December 2024
Nigel Kooreman succeeds Casper van Eijck at Erasmus MC
"Our careers complement each other perfectly."
Originally from Rotterdam, Nigel Kooreman was living in the United States at the start of the year and now lives in The Hague. The 37-year-old joined Erasmus MC after Casper van Eijck asked him to succeed him as a surgeon. Nigel and his family returned to the Netherlands—this time for good.
Nigel explains: "We had considered staying in the United States permanently. I could see a clear future there as a surgeon and researcher. I met my wife, Veriene, in the US; her family lives there and our youngest daughter, Violet, was born there seven months ago. But our plans changed for an excellent reason: Casper van Eijck. I met Casper while training as a surgeon at Leiden University Medical Centre. The links with Erasmus MC were strong, and I spent some time working alongside him. We got on well and I found his work fascinating. Even so, I returned to California. Early last year, Veriene, our eldest daughter Valerie and I moved to Stanford. I joined my former professor at a start-up working to bring stem-cell immunotherapy into clinical practice. I had developed the therapy during my PhD and returned to the laboratory to help make it available to patients. We were living in the same city again and it felt like coming home. Then Casper called."
Right person, right moment
"The pancreas has always been a major clinical interest of mine, which is one reason Casper and I connected so well. There is still so much progress to be made in pancreatic cancer, and that makes the field particularly motivating. My research has focused for years on using immunotherapy to activate the immune system. We tested the vaccine developed at Stanford against pancreatic cancer and saw promising results. Casper and I both value continuity, so he will remain involved at Erasmus MC as a researcher. The current studies will increasingly come together, while my knowledge and experience add another branch of immunotherapy. Casper’s surgical role will gradually recede, but the research infrastructure and partnerships are well established and can continue. The handover also gives him more time for research funded by the foundation. I am delighted with this varied position and with everything he has built. Our careers complement each other perfectly: it was time for Casper to retire from surgery, while I discovered that it was time to return to the Netherlands."
Helping patients as best they can
"Alongside my research, I operate regularly in my new role. Some surgeons are drawn to complex procedures, and I am one of them. Operations around the pancreas are especially interesting because the field is developing rapidly, including through robotic surgery. Although every operation follows established principles, you never know exactly what you will encounter—particularly during a complex Whipple procedure. The steps are familiar, but each case demands a different approach. As a specialist, I know the alternatives: if plan A is not possible, we look for plan B. Ultimately, everything is about helping the patient as well as we can. I have operated with Casper before and am proud to continue his surgical work. My family and I have settled in The Hague and have no plans to leave. I hope to remain in this wonderful role at Erasmus MC until I retire, just as my predecessor did."
Big shoes to fill
"My hope is that pancreatic cancer will become treatable. I want to see breakthroughs like those achieved in breast and bowel cancer, so that pancreatic cancer becomes a chronic condition—or one treated so successfully that tumours do not return and patients no longer live with the constant fear of metastasis. Survival has improved very little in recent decades, but I hope immunotherapy will change that. Stem cells contain many proteins also found in tumour cells, so my earlier research fits closely with Casper’s work. We hope that combinations of oncolytic viruses, dendritic cells and cancer vaccines will soon enable us to activate the immune system and significantly improve survival. People have called me the new Casper van Eijck. Those are big shoes to fill, but I will do everything I can."