Dr Maurits Vissers new Clinical Operations Director
Dr Maurits Vissers started his new role as Clinical Operations Director after completing his PhD thesis at CHDR. He brings his prior management experience at pharmaceutical companies to the position.
'After my university training as a pharmacist, I worked at several global pharmaceutical companies,' Vissers says. 'In 2018, I came to a point where I needed to contemplate my future career path. I always found drug development the most interesting topic within the pharmaceutical industry. So I started an in-depth Clinical Development course at Paul Janssen Futurelab here in Leiden while working at AbbVie. That's how I encountered CHDR. I had never really wanted to do a PhD before; it was too academic for my taste. But the track here appealed to me because of the strong interaction between science and business partners.'
Vissers left his job and became a clinical scientist, contributing to the work of the Neurology group. Because of his prior management experience at pharmaceutical companies, he got involved in a CHDR working group aimed at improving the efficiency of operations. 'In the summer of 2022, I was asked by Geert Jan Groeneveld, our current CEO, if I was interested in the job of Clinical Operations Director. It didn’t take me long to decide. For me, this is the perfect mix of management and involvement in developing novel treatments. Moreover, I am truly enthusiastic about the work we do at CHDR, our company’s philosophy, and our highly motivated people. We decided that I would first finish my dissertation and then take up this new position from 1 January 2023.’
Dr Vissers defended his PhD on 21 June 2023 for a thesis on mechanistic early phase clinical pharmacology studies under the supervision of Prof. Geert Jan Groeneveld.
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