Roel Bennink appointed professor Radiology at Leiden University/LUMC

Bennink was professor of radiology, particularly in the field of training and education in nuclear medicine and molecular radiology at the University of Amsterdam. He was appointed professor of radiology at Leiden University/LUMC on April 1.

Bennink: “With increasing demand for care and workload, it is essential to strike a good balance between clinical duties and academic responsibilities, such as teaching and scientific research. Attention to generational differences; team dynamics and utilizing automation, such as artificial intelligence, are crucial in this regard. Further strengthening research culture, including through collaboration with partner institutions and innovative companies, is also a core task of the chair. In doing so, radiology makes a structural contribution to future-proof care, education and innovation.”

Radiology is a multifaceted specialty that is increasingly central to the hospital thanks to its broad application in both diagnostics and treatment, including image-guided interventions and molecular imaging. “The chair contributes to the further academic shaping of the profession: the radiologist as innovator, practitioner, consultant, and diagnostician,” says Bennink, ”In these roles, multidisciplinary work is central, with collaboration between physicians, researchers, clinical physicists, pharmacists, and referring specialties. In both the hospital and the region and beyond. At the same time, we want to ensure high-quality patient care and high-quality research.”

Curriculum vitae

For the past 25 years, Bennink was a nuclear medicine specialist in gastrointestinal and liver diseases in Amsterdam. His clinical focus included diagnosis of esophageal cancer, radioembolization (a form of internal radiation therapy) of liver tumors and regional liver function scintigraphy. The latter study is used to determine future residual liver function in patients facing major liver surgery so that it can be done safely with a reduced risk of inadequate liver function after surgery.

In addition to his clinical and academic work, Bennink has been heavily involved in the training of nuclear physicians and radiologists. He was trainer of nuclear medicine and, after the integration of the training programs, also trainer of radiology. He was also chairman of several committees and vice chairman of the Dutch Society of Nuclear Medicine. In addition, he served as chairman of the joint Concilium Radiologicum. From 2012 to 2025, Bennink was a member of the Registration Committee of Medical Specialists (RGS), the last three years of which he chaired.