Carmen Vleggeert-Lankamp
The Netherlands
Secretary, Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS)
President, CSRS Europe
Conflicts of interest
I receive expenses for travel and accommodation for my ODEP related activities but otherwise I am unpaid.
Profile details
Dr Vleggeert-Lankamp received her MSc grade in pharmacy in 1995 and later graduated from medical school at the University of Utrecht in 1998. As a student, Vleggeert-Lankamp felt drawn to both pharmacy and medicine, but it was her empathy and love for patients that finally led her to choose medicine.
“It was that patient contact that made me choose medicine”.
From 1998 to 2006, she completed her residency in neurosurgery at Leiden University Medical Center, and went on to obtain her PhD in peripheral nerve regeneration. However, her passion for spine surgery would take the upperhand, and she began her subspecialization in 2006, and she now has a special interest in craniocervical deformities and reconstruction, as well as achondroplasia. In 2007, she became a senior member of staff at her alma mater, where she currently heads the spine research group.
An avid physician-scientist, Vleggeert-Lankamp serves as secretary of the Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS), and she currently mentors numerous PhD students on themes varying from cervical to lumbar, and from degenerative to congenital spine diseases. She and her research groups have received several research prizes, including the Mario Boni Award in 2010 and 2019, EuroSpine research grant in 2012, the International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine (ISSLS) prize in 2013, the North American Spine Society (NASS) grant in 2014, the EuroSpine award in 2014, and the CSRS Best Paper Award in 2018.
Vleggeert-Lankamp has a long list of scientific publications and invited guest lectures. She is actively involved in spinal teaching, supervises several PhD trajectories, and is involved in spine training programs of the EANS, CSRS and EuroSpine. She is a reviewer for European Radiology, the European Spine Journal, Plos One, and the Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences. Additionally, she is the president of the CSRS Europe.
However, Vlegeert-Lankamp’s most impressive asset is her humanity. A proud mother of three, she is constantly recognized for her bedside manner by patients and staff alike. In her blog, she writes about her experiences as a physician and the richness of doctor-patient contact, thus inspiring future generations of physicians.
