Henk-Jan Guchelaar is professor Clinical Pharmacy at both the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the faculty of Math & Natural Sciences of the University of Leiden (LACDR). He is head of the department of Clinical Pharmacy & Toxicology of the LUMC and program leader of the research program ‘Personalised Therapeutics’. He is also director of the Leiden University research profile ‘Translational Drug Discovery and Development’ and founder of the Master Pharmacy. In addition, he coordinates a European Horizon 2020 project about implementation of pharmacogenetics in routine health care. Guchelaar is board member of division 4 of the LUMC. He is also clinical trainer Clinical Pharmacology and deputy clinical trainer Hospital Pharmacy.

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Henk-Jan Guchelaar is professor Clinical Pharmacy at both the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the faculty of Math & Natural Sciences of the University of Leiden (LACDR). He is head of the department of Clinical Pharmacy & Toxicology of the LUMC and program leader of the research program ‘Personalised Therapeutics’. He is also director of the Leiden University research profile ‘Translational Drug Discovery and Development’ and founder of the Master Pharmacy. In addition, he coordinates a European Horizon 2020 project about implementation of pharmacogenetics in routine health care.  Guchelaar is board member of division 4 of the LUMC. He is also clinical trainer Clinical Pharmacology and deputy clinical trainer Hospital Pharmacy. 

Clinical Pharmacy

Clinical Pharmacy entails providing and guaranteeing effective, save and efficient pharmacotherapy for patients being treated both within the LUMC and, in case of LUMC-guided and/or –initiated treatment, outside the LUMC. In particular, providing specialised pharmaceutical patient care in the context of pharmacotherapy and clinical toxicology is important. In education, clinical pharmacy includes coordinating and providing training and education in (hospital)pharmacy, medicines, clinical pharmacology, pharmacotherapy and pharmacotoxicology. Clinical Pharmacy is oriented towards the patient as well as the pharmaceutical product, the latter by manufacturing and analysing medicines.

The research of Henk-Jan Guchelaar focuses entirely on ‘personalised therapeutics’. The discovery of  pharmacogenetic biomarkers in cancer, the implementation of these biomarkers in clinical practice and the development of personalised therapies are the central themes within his field of research. This topic is considered very important in Europe and fits perfectly within the National Science Agenda route ‘personalised medicine’. In 2016, Guchelaar started a European collaboration project (Horizon 2020) which measures the effects of adapting drug prescriptions based on pharmacogenetic biomarkers using pharmacogenetic guidelines on treatment outcome and health care costs. In 2017 he has, in collaboration with several departments of the LUMC, the Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research (LACDR) and a number of companies at the BioScience Park in Leiden, initiated the ‘Leiden Network for Personalised Therapeutics’ (LNPT). Within this network fundamental and clinical researchers closely collaborate in the field of individualised therapy development. 

Academic career

Henk-Jan Guchelaar has completed his education Pharmacy (cum laude) and doctoral research at Groningen University, the Netherlands. The title of his doctoral thesis (1993) is ‘Modulation of cisplatin activity and toxicity; changing the drug or changing the target’. Guchelaar performed a clinical orientation at the New England Medical Centre Hospital in Boston, USA. After his graduation, Guchelaar further specialised in hospital pharmacy and clinical pharmacology at the University Medical Centre Groningen. In 2003, he was appointed professor Clinical Pharmacy at the LUMC, and in 2008 of the LACDR, University of Leiden. The title of his inaugural lecture was ‘(Bij)werking begrepen’.

Over 20 years, Henk-Jan Guchelaar performs research in the field of ‘Personalised Therapeutics’ with a strong focus on pharmacogenetics and oncology. He published over 300 scientific publications and at least 30 graduate students graduated under his supervision. Prof. Guchelaar has held a number of national and international offices at scientific organisations. Currently he is vice-chair of the Dutch Society of Clinical Pharmacology & Bio-Pharmacy; chair of the Concilium Hospital Pharmacy; member of the CCMV; college member of the College for Evaluation of Medicines; member of the scientific program committee of the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics; member of the Scientific Advisory Board of KiKa; vice-chair of the committee Pharmaceutical Help (Zorg Instituut Nederland); member of the Council for Medical Sciences (KNAW); member of the Royal Dutch Society of Sciences. 

Publications