Prof. R.B.M. Landewé (1964) has been appointed Professor of Rheumatology, and in particular of outcome research, in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Amsterdam (AMC-UvA).

Measuring outcomes is of paramount importance in chronic and debilitating conditions such as rheumatic diseases. Many patients with rheumatic diseases live most of their lives with that condition, with the course of the disease affected by a wide variety of factors such as not only its severity and the treatment received, but also how they cope with their illness. The chronic nature of the disease makes it vital to provide a reliable and specific prognosis early on. Predicting the outcome of diseases has become an important branch of research, not least because although current treatments for rheumatic diseases are usually very effective, they are also exceptionally expensive.

Robert Landewé is specialised in clinical epidemiological research spanning the entire spectrum of rheumatology in all its guises. An area of especial interest is medical statistics and, more specifically, the model-based study of primarily longitudinal correlations between outcomes. His work also extends to cost-effectiveness research and trial design in the field of rheumatology. Landewé is furthermore involved in evaluating the value of imaging (X-ray, MRI) for rheumatic diseases. One of his key areas of interest is clinical-epidemiological research on spondyloarthritis (Ankylosing spondylitis).

Landewé has been professor of Prognosis and Outcome Research in Rheumatic Conditions at the University of Maastricht since 2008. In the past he worked as programme leader at the Caphri research institute, School for Public Health and Primary Care, and he has long been closely involved in the international Omeract initiative (‘outcome measures in rheumatic diseases’) – since 2010 as a member of its Executive Board. He is also President-elect of the Assessment in Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS). As a practising rheumatologist, Landewé additionally works in the Atrium Medical Centre in Heerlen.