Floris Lafeber

lafeber
lafeber

Research vision

Our final goal is to improve clinical practice by development and improvement of diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases. For this purpose we perform translational rheumatology research: questions from basic research are translated, when necessary and possible via in vivo animal research, to clinical studies. The other way around, questions raised from clinical practice are translated into basic research and results will be confirmed (when necessary and possible via in vivo animal studies) by clinical studies. Fore more details we refer to our policy plan 2010‐2015 on our website (www.umcutrecht.nl/rheumatology‐research)

Translational biomedical research, including epidemiologic approaches, is performed focussed on three specific patient populations: patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with osteoarthritis (OA) (including hemophilic arthropathy), and with systemic immune diseases (SID) (primairily, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren Syndrome (SS), and more recently also Sclerodermia). In all cases cohorts of patients are the basis, enabling clinical (epidemiologic) studies, as well as ex vivo research. These cohorts are also a source of biomaterials for more fundamental in vitro approaches.

In addition to organization, initiation, and facilitation of these research lines, a personal interest remained in osteoarthritis, more specifically in a unique treatment of severe osteoarthritis (joint distraction) which has been developed over the past years and in a unique and internationally accepted animal model of osteoarthritis (the canine Groove model) that has been developed and validated. Both these topics received great international interest from scientists and companies (involved in treatment of osteoarthritis).

Educational background

1979‐1984 Study in Biology at the University of Nijmegen. Master of Science (M.S.) in Biology in November 1984 at the University of Nijmegen.

Principal subject: Animal Physiology ; Secondary subjects: Cell Biology at the Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, University of Leiden, and Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Nijmegen

1985‐1988 Ph.D. study at the dept. of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science at the University of Nijmegen. Ph.D. graduation at April 22nd, 1988; Thesis entitled "Comparison of Hypocalcin and PTH in mammalian and teleost bioassays". July‐September 1986 Visiting Scientist, Department of Physiology, University of Ottawa, Canada.

1988‐1989 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Science, Catholic University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Started an EEG subsidised research project entitled "Aquatic ecotoxicology of organic aluminium: effects on calcium physiology in fish".

1989‐1991 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, UMC Utrecht on the project entiteled: "In vitro breakdown and repair of osteoarthritic human cartilage: the role of inflammation mediators, estrogens and mechanical load".
1992‐2002 Director research laboratory, Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Utrecht.

2003-2008 Associate professor and director of research, Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, University Medical Centre Utrecht.

2009‐present Professor of experimental rheumatology

Scientific output

International SCI publications: Scopus: 159

H‐index: ISI web of knowledge: 35

Honors & Awards

Winner of the EULAR Young Investigators Award at the 1st European League Against Rheumatism Workshop on Cartilage and Bone Reserch, September 20th, 1991.

Top 10 SCI publications as senior author and/or corresponding author 2008‐2011

Bijlsma JWJ, Berenbaum F, and Lafeber FPJG. Osteoarthritis: an update with relevance for clinical practice. Lancet 2011; 377: 2115–26 (IF 29.4, top 10% in the field) Review

Intema F, et al. Lafeber FPJG. Tissue structure modification in knee osteoarthritis by use of joint distraction: an open 1‐year pilot study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011: [Epub ahead of print] (IF 6.8 , highest in the field)

Bakker MF, et al. Lafeber FPJG. The relation between cartilage biomarkers (C2C, C1,2C, CS846, and CPII) and the long‐term outcome of rheumatoid arthritis patients within the CAMERA trial. Arthritis Res Ther. 2011; 13:R70. [Epub ahead of print] (IF 4.3 , top 25% in the field)

Kinds MB, et al. Lafeber FPJG A systematic review of the association between radiographic and clinical osteoarthritis of hip and knee. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2011; [Epub ahead of print] (IF 4.5, highest in the field) Review

Mastbergen S and Lafeber FPJG. Changes in subchondral bone early in development of OA. A&R 2011; [Epub ahead of print] (IF 7.3, top 10%)

Cook, J.L.,Kuroki K, Visco D, Pelletier JP, Schulz L, Lafeber FPJG. The OARSI histopathology initiative ‐ recommendations for histological assessments of osteoarthritis in the dog. O&C, 2010; 18: S66‐S79. (IF 4.5, highest in the field)

van Roon JA, et al. Lafeber FPJG. Numbers of CD25+Foxp3+ T cells that lack the IL‐7 receptor are increased intra‐articularly and have impaired suppressive function in RA patients. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2010; 49: 2084‐9. (IF 4.2 , top 25% in the field)

van Spil WE, DeGroot J, Lems WF, Oostveen JC, Lafeber FPJG. Serum and urinary biochemical markers for knee and hip‐osteoarthritis: a systematic review applying the consensus BIPED criteria. O&C. 2010; 18:605‐12. (IF 4.5, highest in the field) Review.

Hartgring, S.A.Y., et al. Lafeber FPJG. Elevated expression of interleukin‐7 receptor in inflamed joints mediates interleukin‐7‐induced immune activation in rheumatoid arthritis. A&R 2009; 60: 2595‐2605. (IF 7.3, top 10%)

Bijlsma JW, Lafeber FPJG. Glucosamine sulfate in osteoarthritis: the jury is still out. Ann Intern Med. 2008; 148: 315‐6. (IF 16.2, top 10%)