Erik Niks is Professor of Pediatric Neurology, with a special focus on neuromuscular disorders, at the Department of Neurology of Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). He is Head of the Pediatric Neuromuscular Center Willem-Alexander Children’s Hospital-LUMC. He is also a member of the executive board of the Neuroscience research theme, a member of the Biobank Review Committee, and a member of the Scientific Committee of Neurology. He serves as Chair of the Duchenne Center Netherlands and coordinates the national registries for patients with Duchenne, Becker and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. He has received research funding from organizations including Spieren voor Spieren, Duchenne Parent Project, Spierfonds, AFM-Téléthon, and Health-Holland.

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Erik Niks is Professor of Pediatric Neurology, with a special focus on neuromuscular disorders, at the Department of Neurology of Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). He is Head of the Pediatric Neuromuscular Center Willem-Alexander Children’s Hospital-LUMC. He is also a member of the executive board of the Neuroscience research theme, a member of the Biobank Review Committee, and a member of the Scientific Committee of Neurology. He serves as Chair of the Duchenne Center Netherlands and coordinates the national registries for patients with Duchenne, Becker and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. He has received research funding from organizations including Spieren voor Spieren, Duchenne Parent Project, Spierfonds, AFM-Téléthon, and Health-Holland.

Pediatric Neurology, with a special focus on neuromuscular disorders

Neuromuscular disorders in childhood are, for the most part, lifelong conditions characterized by a continuous loss of muscle strength and function. During the critical period in which children discover themselves and the world around them and gradually develop independence, they instead become increasingly dependent on others.

The Chair of Pediatric Neurology, with a special focus on neuromuscular disorders, is dedicated to improving and accelerating diagnosis, multidisciplinary care, and the development of novel therapies for this vulnerable patient population.

Research within the Pediatric Neuromuscular Center WAKZ-LUMC focuses on the detailed characterization of the natural history of these disorders, understanding the variability in disease progression, and unraveling the factors that drive this variability. We develop blood-based biomarkers and advanced MRI techniques that can detect and predict changes in muscle tissue. In addition, we are developing therapies that target RNA and DNA.

Through our national patient registries, we are building a data infrastructure that links biological changes at the muscle level to their impact on daily functioning and quality of life. The ultimate goal is to enable more sensitive and reliable measurement of the effects of new therapies, demonstrate their clinical value and cost-effectiveness, and ultimately make a meaningful difference in the lives of children with neuromuscular disorders.

Academic career

Erik Niks studied Medicine at Utrecht University (MD in 1999) and Piano Performance at the Utrecht Conservatory (Master of Music in Performance 1996). After completing his residency training in Neurology in 2008 and Pediatric Neurology in 2009 in Leiden, he undertook a fellowship in myology, funded by the Spierfonds. During this fellowship, he specialized in pediatric neuromuscular disorders at the Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre in London. In 2013, he obtained his PhD with a thesis on the clinical characteristics, epidemiology, and immunological aspects of myasthenia gravis with antibodies to muscle-specific kinase (MuSK).

At Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), as Head of the Pediatric Neuromuscular Center, he has played a leading role in the organization of multidisciplinary care, the integration of clinical care and research, and the development of nationwide patient registries. In close collaboration with the Departments of Radiology and Human Genetics, he conducts research into variability in the natural history of neuromuscular disorders, clinical outcome measures, and biomarkers that provide insight into muscle quality and function and can predict disease progression. At LUMC, he has established a research group with extensive experience in conducting clinical studies and trials in children and adults with neuromuscular disorders. He is also involved in research on the neuropsychological aspects of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and in the academic development of an intramuscular therapeutic approach.

Erik Niks was appointed Professor of Pediatric Neurology, with a special focus on neuromuscular disorders, effective 1 October 2026, and will deliver his inaugural lecture in January 2028.