Dr J.K. (Jacob) Sont, MSc, PhD

After completing a master's degree in biomedical sciences and a master's degree in epidemiology, I conducted my PhD research entitled “Airways inflammation and its sequelae in asthma: therapeutic implications” at Leiden University under the supervision of Prof. Peter J. Sterk and Prof. Jan P. Vandenbroucke. Since 2008, I have been an associate professor at Medical Decision Making. I am also a member of the steering committee of SHARP (Severe Heterogeneous Asthma Research collaboration, Patient-centred), secretary of the SHARP Central Foundation and board member of RAPSODI (Register of Adult Patients with Severe Asthma for Optimal DIsease management).

My current research focuses on data-driven improvement of healthcare outcomes and the role of mHealth and self-management. For this, I have received grants from, among others, the Longfonds, ZonMw, European Respiratory Society and EU Horizon2020. My team provides the infrastructure for the Dutch RAPSODI severe asthma registry and the international SHARP CENTRAL registries (Severe Heterogeneous Asthma Research collaboration, Patient-centred) in 14 European countries. My team also developed the PatientCoach app for (self)monitoring, which is also used for PROM data in RAPSODI and SHARP. For example, in the OBIOMAB project (ZonMW) we are investigating whether individualized extension of the dosing interval for treatment with biologicals in patients with well-controlled severe asthma is possible and can improve cost-effectiveness.