Dr. R. (Rachel) Knevel

I am a rheumatologist, associate professor and Chief Research Information Officer (CRIO) at the LUMC. I combine patient care with research into data-driven diagnostics and treatment of rheumatic diseases. After my medical training and PhD research on the genetics of rheumatoid arthritis, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School. I lead a research group at the LUMC at the intersection of rheumatology, clinical epidemiology, genetics and data science. I am also a visiting professor at Newcastle University and a visiting researcher at TU Delft. I am also a member of the management team of ELAN, where I focus on the responsible linking of GP data and LUMC data for research. As a CRIO, I connect research needs with data infrastructure, governance and AI innovation, so that researchers can work with health data safely and methodologically.

My research focuses on the earlier and more precise recognition of rheumatic diseases and on predicting disease progression and treatment response. To do this, I combine clinical data, (1st, 2nd and 3rd line) electronic patient records, genetics and molecular data with epidemiology, machine learning and AI. I develop and validate digital triage and decision support tools, patient stratification models and digital-twin methods. I am the initiator and coordinator of the Horizon Europe consortium SPIDeRR and involved in international consortia, including SQUEEZE. My research is supported by, among others, Horizon Europe, ZonMw and ReumaNederland. My goal is to develop methodologically robust models that have demonstrable clinical value in the intended healthcare population and can be implemented responsibly.