Since 2008, Wilco Peul has been a Professor of Neurosurgery and head of the LUMC Neurosurgery Department. He is also chairman at the University Neurosurgery Centre Holland (UNCH), a cooperative between the LUMC, HMC and the Haga Hospital. The UNCH board is responsible for coordinating neurosurgery activities at 8 hospitals located in Leiden, The Hague, Haarlem, Schiedam, Delft, Gouda and surrounding areas. By concentrating specialized care within these hospitals, UNCH aims to realize high-quality and equal treatment with added value for all patients. On behalf of the European Association for Neurosurgical Societies (EANS), Professor Wilco Peul has been active in the UEMS Neurosurgery located in Brussels since 2015, where he is developing a European Training Curriculum for spinal surgery together with the Orthopedics and Neurosurgery divisions. As of 2020, he will lead the development of the training program as president of the UEMS Neurosurgery division. In 2021, he became Editor-in-chief of the newly initiated scientific journal ‘Brain and Spine’. The journal is led by 2 scientific societies, EANS and Eurospine, in collaboration with the publisher Elsevier. Due to his role as a clinical researcher, outside the LUMC he was appointed as a board member of ZonMW in 2020, for a period of 3 years.

More information about Wilco Peul

Neurosurgery

Efficient neurosurgery research, patient care and education is at the top of Professor Wilco Peul and his staff’s local, national and international agenda. This is reflected in guideline changes occurring through research in spinal surgery and neuro-traumatology, particularly international comparative studies regarding diagnosis and treatment of severe brain and spinal cord injury. He is also involved in education in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) on behalf of the World Organization.

In the breadth of the full range of disorders to be treated with neurosurgery, the chair facilitates various research lines, including spine medicine, nerve surgery, translational neuro-Oncology, skull base surgery, functional surgery and acute neurosurgery.

At present, Professor Wilco Peul as chair has initiated research concerning the most optimal and effective treatment for patients with tumors of the Axial Skeleton (skull & spine). This is in line with the surgical expertise of the LUMC profile, that of the Department of Neurosurgery and the ancillary departments of Oncology, Orthopedics, Pathology and Radiotherapy, including the Holland Proton Beam center. In that capacity, he is a member of the Dutch Commission for Bone Tumors.

At a young age, Professor Wilco Peul s set a goal to critically evaluate existing and new interventions in randomized research. As a trained epidemiologist, he obtained his doctorate cum laude in 2008 for his comparative cost-effectiveness study. His thesis, ’The Sciatica Trial‘,   looked at early hernia surgery versus a longer wait-and-see policy with the possiblility for  later intervention. This methodology, new in neurosurgery, has subsequently led to several similar clinical studies, which have changed the policy of spinal care for high-volume disorders. His inaugural lecture in 2010 "Spiegel der Rational Zorg, From carpenter's eye to computer-navigated neurosurgery" provided an innovation depiction, evaluation and efficiency of care with outcome measurements on the entire spectrum of disorders with neurosurgical care demand treated in the greater Leiden region.

Academic career

At a young age, Professor Wilco Peul set a goal to critically evaluate existing and new interventions in randomized research. As a trained epidemiologist, he obtained his doctorate cum laude in 2008 for his comparative cost-effectiveness study "The Sciatica Trial" into early hernia surgery versus a longer wait-and-see policy with possibly later intervention. This methodology, new in neurosurgery, has since led to several similar clinical studies, which have changed the policy of spinal care for high volume disorders. His inaugural lecture in 2010 "Spiegel der Rational Zorg, From carpenter's eye to computer-navigated neurosurgery" therefore provides a picture of innovation, evaluation and efficiency of care with outcome measurements on the entire spectrum of disorders with neurosurgical care demand treated in the greater Leiden region.

Publications