SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Chair – Denis Schmartz, MD – HUB
Dr. Denis Schmartz, MD, is a consultant anesthesiologist at Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B.), affiliated with the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Brussels, Belgium. He serves as the head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, and is also the clinical director of the cardiothoracic anesthesia division. Dr. Schmartz is a board member of the Belgian Society of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation, Perioperative Medicine, and Pain Management (BeSARPP). His clinical and research interests include neuromuscular monitoring, perioperative medicine, and anesthesia in elderly patients. He has authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and is actively involved in clinical research initiatives.
Professor Dr. Vincent Bonhomme, MD, PhD – CHU Liège
Professor Dr. Vincent Bonhomme, MD, PhD, Agrégé, is Head and Professor of Anesthesiology at the University Hospital and University of Liège in Belgium. He leads the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Laboratory within the GIGA-Consciousness unit at GIGA-Neuroscience. Dr. Bonhomme specializes in neurosurgical anesthesiology and pain management, with a research focus on brain mechanisms of altered consciousness during anesthesia and nociception monitoring. He is actively involved in BeSARPP, serves as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Acta Anaesthesiologica Belgica, and is a Titulary Member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine. He has authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters.
Rowan Dankerlui, MD – UZA
Dr. Rowan Dankerlui, MD, is an anesthesiologist at Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen (UZA) and a researcher at the University of Antwerp. His clinical and research interests encompass pain management, perioperative care, and critical care medicine. Dr. Dankerlui has contributed to studies on postoperative pain relief, such as evaluating sublingual sufentanil versus intravenous morphine after back surgery, and assessing pain through pupillary dilation reflex (PDR) and nociception flexion reflex (NFR) in critically ill ICU patients. He is also involved in the PERISCOPE trial, focusing on preoperative screening to prevent persistent postoperative pain. Dr. Dankerlui has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications and is actively engaged in clinical research initiatives.
Iuliana-Marinela Lupu – UC Louvain
Iuliana-Marinela Lupu is an anesthesiologist at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, where she has been part of the team since 2012. She specializes in anesthesia for abdominal and head and neck surgeries, including complex procedures. Dr. Lupu also integrates medical hypnosis into her practice to enhance patient comfort and care. Deeply committed to education, she plays an active role in mentoring and teaching residents as part of her daily clinical work.
Marc Van De Velde – MD, PhD – UZ Leuven
Professor Dr. Marc Van de Velde, MD, PhD, EDRA, is a consultant anesthesiologist at UZ Leuven and a full professor at KU Leuven in Belgium. He obtained his medical degree from the Catholic University of Louvain in 1991 and completed his residency in anesthesiology in 1996. In 2000, he received his PhD for research on metabolic support of the stunned myocardium. Since November 2010, he has served as the Head of the Department of Anesthesiology at UZ Leuven. Dr. Van de Velde is internationally recognized for his work in obstetric anesthesia and anesthesia for patients with congenital heart disease undergoing non-cardiac surgery. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed articles and co-edited books on maternal critical care and obstetric anesthesia. He currently chairs the Scientific Subcommittee on Obstetric Anesthesia of the European Society of Anesthesiology and is the president of the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy (ESRA).
Charlotte Van den Berghe – UZ Brussel
Jurgen Van Limmen – UZ Gent
Dr. Jurgen Van Limmen is an anesthesiologist at UZ Gent. He specializes in anesthesia for hepatobiliary surgery and gastrointestinal surgery, among others.