We are honored to host some leading experts of our department.
Take a look at the program and the plenary lectures*.
*Subject to change
Professor Koos Burggraaf
Leiden / The Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Koos Burggraaf from CHDR Leiden is a physician and professor of translational drug research and an internationally renowned clinical pharmacologist with decades of experience in early translational clinical drug development at the interface between academia and industry. The Center for Human Drug Research CHDR in Leiden was the first academic-led center for early clinical drug development in Europe to systematically follow the principle of “question-based drug development” (QBDD) using biomarker-driven development strategies, a term coined by the CHDR founder Prof Adam Cohen from Leiden University (Cohen AF, Burggraaf J et al Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 2015; 55: 55 – 74).
Compared to the pure ”safety pharmacology” practiced for decades, particularly in early drug development and classic phase 1 studies, Question-Based Drug Development (QBDD) is a new approach in drug development that focuses on formulating specific scientific questions and systematically addressing these questions throughout the entire development process to evaluate. Rather than relying solely on predetermined protocols or traditional development paths, QBDD promotes a flexible and adaptive approach that allows new insights and data to be integrated in real time.
Prof. Jacobus (Koos) Burggraaf (1959) is currently Dean of the CHDR Academy and Professor of Translational Drug Development at the Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research and the Leiden University Medical Center. He is also a specialist in clinical pharmacology, a member of the Leiden training team for clinical pharmacologists and a full member of several (inter)national societies for clinical pharmacology.
Burggraaf earned a Master of Science in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Master of Science in Medicine from Leiden University with a focus on clinical pharmacology. He then obtained the title of Doctor of Medicine with distinction from Leiden University and received his doctorate there. He has held various positions at CHDR since 1990, including CEO from 2018 to 2024.
Burggraaf's main interest is innovation in early drug development and (postgraduate) education. He has published over 250 manuscripts in academic journals and was/is the supervisor of 50 doctoral students.
Thomas Hartung
Baltimore, Maryland / United States
Thomas Hartung, MD PhD, is the Doerenkamp-Zbinden-Chair for Evidence-based Toxicology in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering, Baltimore. He also holds a joint appointment for Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Bloomberg School. He is adjunct affiliate professor at Georgetown University, Washington D.C.. In addition, he holds a joint appointment as Professor for Pharmacology and Toxicology at University of Konstanz, Germany; he also is Director of Centers for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT, http://caat.jhsph.edu) of both universities. CAAT hosts the secretariat of the Evidence-based Toxicology Collaboration (http://www.ebtox.org) and manages collaborative programs on Good Read-Across Practice, Good Cell Culture Practice, Green Toxicology, Developmental Neurotoxicity, Developmental Immunotoxicity, Microphysiological Systems and Refinement. As PI, he headed the Human Toxome project funded as an NIH Transformative Research Grant and the series of annual Microphysiological Systems World Summits starting in 2022 by 60+ organizations. He has initiated a Human Exposome Moonshot Forum in Washington in May 2025, which has been joined by 60+ organizations so far. He is the founding Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, which published 1200+ articles since 2018. He is the former Head of the European Commission’s Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), Ispra, Italy, and has authored more than 710 scientific publications with more than 51,000 citations (h-index 121). His toxicology classes on COURSERA had more than 21,000 active learners.
Professor Rejko Krüger
Belvaux / Luxembourg
Dr. Rejko Krüger is a prominent neurologist in Luxembourg, recognized for his expertise in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson's disease. He holds the position of Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Luxembourg and serves as the Director of Transversal Translational Medicine at the Luxembourg Institute of Health. With over 20 years of clinical and research experience, Dr. Krüger has a strong focus on the genetics of neurodegenerative diseases, which has led to the publication of more than 300 scientific papers, accumulating over 38,000 citations and an h-index of 69.
Dr. Krüger coordinates the National Centre for Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s disease (NCER-PD) initially funded by the FNR. As senior consultant in Neurology he treats patients with movement disorders at the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg. Since 2017, he has been leading integrated healthcare initiatives in Luxembourg, supported by the Ministry of Health, including the "Programme Démence Prévention," aimed at preventing dementia, and ParkinsonNet Luxembourg, a specialized care network for Parkinson's disease.
Dr. Krüger brings his extensive clinical expertise for the development of ParkinTest. Once the spinoff is created, Dr. Krüger will assume a clinical advisory role at the company.