Saskia Lesnik Oberstein is professor of clinical genetics, in particular translational research of small vessel diseases. She is chair of the LUMC expert center for genetic small vessel disease. She has received a Vici (2024) and a Vidi (2017) grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), and numerous personal grants from the Dutch brain Foundation (Hersenstichting).

More information about Saskia Lesnik Oberstein

Saskia Lesnik Oberstein is professor of clinical genetics, in particular translational research of small vessel diseases. She is chair of the LUMC expert center for genetic small vessel disease. She has received a Vici (2024) and a Vidi (2017) grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), and numerous personal grants from the Dutch brain Foundation (Hersenstichting).

Genetic cerebral small vessel diseases (SVD)

My research focus is in the field of genetic cerebral small vessel diseases (SVD), in particular CADASIL. The strength of the research lies in combining patient care with clinical and basic research approaches. Contributions to the field have ranged from designing and developing pre-clinical disease-modifying therapeutic strategies, to the recent discovery of the role of CADASIL-type NOTCH3 variants in global stroke and vascular dementia risks. My group’s recent discovery of a NOTCH3 genotype-phenotype-aggregation association has led not only to novel insights in disease mechanisms, but also to a direct improvement for disease prediction in the clinic. With my group and with contributions from 20 groups worldwide, I led the development of an international NOTCH3-SVD severity scale.

Academic carreer

Saskia Lesnik Oberstein studied Medicine at Leiden University. She successfully defended her thesis on December 17^th 2003, entitled ‘Concerning CADASIL: from NOTCH3 mutation to Stroke, Dementia and Migraine’, supervised by Prof. Martijn Breuning (clinical geneticist) and Prof. Michel Ferrari (Neurologist), both of LUMC.

She started her training to become a clinical geneticist and clinical researcher in 1998. In 2008 she was appointed clinical geneticist and clinical researcher at the department of Clinical genetics in the LUMC. She then co-founded and chairs the LUMC expert center for genetic small vessel disease and leads the LUMC CADASIL and genetic small vessel disease research group. She has received several prestigious personal research grants from the Dutch government, including a Vidi and a Vici grant, as well as the Marie Parijs prize for her translational research from the LUMC.

Saskia has been appointed professor of Clinical Genetics, in particular translational research of genetic small vessel diseases per August 1^st 2025. Her inaugural lecture will be in March 2027.