Professor of Radiology, with a special focus on Imaging in Neuromuscular Disorders, and Deputy Director of the C.J. Gorter Center for MRI. Additionally, portfolio holder for Education and Research within the Diagnostics, Research and Advice cluster. Hermien Kan was awarded a Vidi grant in 2015.

More information about Hermien Kan

Professor of Radiology, with a special focus on Imaging in Neuromuscular Disorders, and Deputy Director of the C.J. Gorter Center for MRI. Additionally, portfolio holder for Education and Research within the Diagnostics, Research and Advice cluster.

Hermien Kan was awarded a Vidi grant in 2015.

Chair

Adequate functioning of muscles and peripheral nerves is essential for our health and daily activities. Neuromuscular disorders and ageing lead to muscle weakness and loss of muscle mass, which can severely impair daily life and result in reduced quality of life and a shorter life expectancy. Although muscle diseases are individually rare, together they constitute a large patient population. In addition, age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) is a widespread societal problem.

Various methods exist to measure muscle function, but many techniques are limited to small parts of the body. MR-based methods (Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) enable the simultaneous examination of multiple muscles with minimal burden to the patient.

The research of Hermien and her team focuses on developing new MR techniques to sensitively and rapidly measure changes in the muscles and brains of individuals with neuromuscular disorders. In addition, these techniques are used to gain new insights into the disease processes underlying these conditions, sarcopenia, and muscle biology in general. With the imaging methods, her team aims to detect changes in muscles and the brain with high sensitivity and at an early stage, enabling clinical trials to be conducted with fewer patients and improving the prediction of disease progression.

This research aligns with the growing need for objective and sensitive measurement methods for use in clinical studies and therapy development. The Netherlands, and particularly LUMC, plays a leading role in this field of research on muscle diseases and imaging techniques.

Academic career

Hermien Kan studied Human Movement Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. On April 25, 2007, she obtained her PhD with the thesis: “Creatine: biosynthesis, uptake and turnover – Assessment of creatine-related energy metabolism by magnetic resonance spectroscopy and functional measurements.”

In 2008, she started her own research line at LUMC focused on MRI of muscle diseases. In close collaboration with the departments of Neurology and Human Genetics, she established natural history studies aimed at identifying biomarkers to both characterize disease progression and investigate pathophysiology.

Recent projects focus on the implementation of quantitative MRI in the care of children with muscle diseases, the development of MRI techniques during movement within the scanner, and the development of a therapy for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Hermien was appointed Professor in 2026 and will deliver her inaugural lecture in 2027.