Ilse Vermeulen is a Project Manager in the Health Data Science team at Erasmus MC, joining in January 2026. Originally trained as a bioengineer, she earned her PhD in Medical Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where she developed and validated prediction models using real-world data from the Belgian Diabetes Registry. This work gave her first-hand insight into the challenges of generating reproducible, trustworthy evidence—from extensive data preprocessing to transforming raw datasets into actionable insights.

Building on this technical foundation, Ilse later joined the UHasselt Biomedical Data Sciences team, where she gained expertise in coordinating multi-stakeholder collaborations, connecting researchers, hospitals, and other health data holders, and enabling federated research across complex health data ecosystems. Known for her versatility and collaborative approach, she brings together technical understanding, strategic insight, and community-building to translate data, policy, and research into meaningful real-world impact. She maintains a 20% affiliation with Hasselt University as National Node Manager of OHDSI Belgium.

Publications

Can be found here: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6647-9886

Awards

OHDSI Titan Award for Community Collaboration, 2025 OHDSI Global Symposium