Nele Adriaenssens

Graduated as a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in July 2008, I applied for a full PhD grant at IWT (Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology). I obtained my PhD, entitled Lymphatic and neuromusculoskeletal adverse side effects of innovative surgical and toxic breast cancer treatments in June 2012 at VUB. In October 2012, I became one of the youngest assistant professors in Belgium (0,3FTE). In October 2020, I obtained a 0,85VTE professorship at VUB, which gave a boost to my academic career. In January 2021, I was promoted to associate professor and in 2024 I obtained a permanent appointment at VUB. 
As from July 2012, I worked parttime as the head physiotherapist at the Breast Clinic of the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZB). In December 2013, I was promoted to the overarching clinical and scientific coordination of Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship at the Medical Oncology Department of the UZB (0,7VTE), what I still do one day a week (0,15VTE) since October 2020, leading a team of three physiotherapists. Additionally, I was the head physiotherapist at the European Center for Lymphatic Surgery at the UZB from April 2016 until September 2020. 

As a new and young professor, taking over the initial research line of my predecessor, vascular pathology and lymphology in 2012, I have reoriented the research scope in 2014 to lymphology and oncology, since cancer rehabilitation was gaining interest in physiotherapy. Over the years, my research line in (exercise-)oncology has expanded from breast cancer to general oncology and hematology. The focus is primarily on adverse events of chemotherapy and immunotherapy (like respectively the ongoing PABTOX and FORX trial) in combination with exercise-pharmacology. Palliative care needs in cancer patients and onco-geriatrics have also become focal points, thanks to collaborations with the End-of-Life Care research group and the Medical Oncology Department at UZB.

My mission in research is to continue pushing the boundaries of cancer rehabilitation and exercise-pharmacology research, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and translating our findings into improved patient care and outcomes. The recently granted PABTOX project, funded by Stand up against Cancer in 2023, is a significant step forward in my 'exercise-oncology-pharmacology' research line and I would like to build on this. By maintaining a balance between clinical relevance and scientific rigor, I aim to contribute significantly to the field of rehabilitation sciences and oncology, ultimately benefiting patients and advancing our understanding of exercise interventions in cancer treatment.

In November 2019, I established a research infrastructure at VUB (Just Move, which was integrated into the interdisciplinary outpatient clinic ‘Sano Clinic’ in Meise in 2024, a satellite project of the UZB). In Just Move, I run the cancer rehabilitation research (in the field of exercise-oncology) for over 10 years now. I am the promotor of finished and ongoing national and international PhDs in oncology amongst others and an in-demand jury member for PhD dissertations at VUB and (inter)nationally. I am a reviewer for 10 international peer reviewed journals, advisory board member for academics, chair(wo)man, scientific review committee member and an active and invited speaker at many (inter)national congresses in the field of cancer rehabilitation and lymphology.

Representation in (inter)national scientific, clinical and policy-making organizations

As co-founder of the scientific organization Belgian Society of Lymphology (BeSL) in 2016, I was elected as President of the BeSL in July 2021 and executive board member of the European Society of Lymphology (ESL) for Belgium. Since 2024, I am the general secretary of the ESL. 
In 2020, I was the (co-)founder of the Axxon Belgian Clinical Interest Group Oncology Physiotherapy and today, I am still leading this group. In 2021-2022, I was an invited member of the expert mirror group of the Royal Dutch Society for Physiotherapy (KNGF) for the development of international guidelines on physiotherapy and oncology, currently the most up to date and internationally used guidelines in the field of exercise-oncology. Over the past five years, I was also an active member of the expert working groups on the white paper ‘Physical activity in cancer’ of the Foundation against cancer, the Cancer Barometer, the eHandBook for (Hemato-)Onco Supportive Care and the BE_EBCP (Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan) mirror group on quality of life, care organization and survivorship of Sciensano in Belgium. 
Since 2020, I am the Belgian representative of the World Physiotherapy subgroup ‘International Physical Therapists for HIV/AIDS, Oncology, Hospice and Palliative Care’ (IPT-HOPE) and the European Region World Physiotherapy professional practice working group ‘Cancer’. In 2024, I was elected as President of the Special Interest Group Lympedema of IPT-HOPE. In 2022, I was elected European physiotherapy representative in the thematic group ‘Early detection & diagnosis and treatment’ of the Stakeholder Contact Group on the Europe's Beating Cancer Plan to provide input to the European Commission on the implementation of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the Horizon Europe Cancer Mission.
I have a keen interest in North-South collaborations. This became clear in October 2015, when I was part of the delegation for the foreign mission of VUB/UZB for the start-up of Dunya Women's Cancer Clinic in Ramallah, Palestine and in 2024 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo for the filariasis-related lymphedema project. Over the past five years, I was an executive member of the special advisory board for developmental cooperations at VUB and in February 2022, I was elected as the new sidekick of the Vice-Rector Internationalisation (Prof. dr. Romain Meeusen) at VUB.