Walther J. van Venrooij

Walther J. van Venrooij did his PhD in 1968 at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands and a post-doctoral research study at Harvard Medical School (Boston). After that he became a full professor of Biochemistry at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

His research activities primarily focused on the process of autoimmunity. In particular he studied autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and myositis. His group was the first to publish that patients with RA have antibodies directed to citrullinated antigens (1998). Subsequently they developed the CCP2 test to measure these antibodies which are present very early in disease. This test (positive in about 75% of RA patients with a specificity of more than 95%) allows earlier diagnosis and treatment. It has been proposed in 2009 as an additional ACR/EULAR criterium for rheumatoid arthritis.

In 2002 he received the Carol Nachmann Award for his research on autoimmune diseases.