The role of epidemiologists and statisticians in the society: Insights from Alumni
Both, Prof. Jean-Pierre Van Geertruyden and Prof. Niel Hens, have the pleasure to invite you to the 8th edition of the ICP North workshop of the ICP programmes Master of Statistics and Data Science at UHasselt and Master of Epidemiology at UAntwerpen.
In the ICP North workshop, several alumni and/or partners from both master’s programmes are invited to share their experiences, research activities and contemporary research results in statistics and epidemiology with us. The goal is to learn more about the current research situation and create new network opportunities.
This event is open to all (ICP) students, Alumni, representatives and researchers interested in international development cooperation, and anyone interested in statistics and epidemiology in developing countries
Practical
On Friday, May 23rd, 2025, the 8th annual ICP North workshop of the ICP programs Master of Epidemiology at UAntwerpen and Master of Statistics and Data Science at UHasselt will take place.
Location: University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken ((CDE), Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Building Q, Room: D.Q.003
Contact person: University of Antwerp: Evodia Uggi - evodia.uggi@uantwerpen.be; University of Hasselt: Leyla Kodalci - leyla.kodalci@uhasselt.be
Programme
11h00: Registration
11h15: Welcome & Introduction to the program
ICP Master of Epidemiology, Prof. Jean-Pierre Van geertruyden, MEPI, University of Antwerp
ICP Master of Statistics, Prof. Niel Hens, MASTAT, University of Hasselt
12h00: Lunch Break
13h30: Invited Speaker: Nina Van Goethem (MEPI)
Nina Van Goethem obtained a Master's degree both in Biomedical Sciences (2015) and Epidemiology (2017) at the University of Antwerp. Throughout her academic journey, she specialized in infectious diseases and completed internships at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (Antwerp), the Medical Research Council Unit (The Gambia) and the Agency of Public Health in Antwerp (Agentschap Zorg en Gezondheid).
In January 2022, she successfully defended her PhD in Public Health, which was a joint collaboration between Sciensano (Belgian institute for health) and UCLouvain. Her doctoral research focused on integrating pathogen genomic data to enhance infectious disease surveillance and epidemiological investigations.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, she has been actively involved in Sciensano’s crisis team, coordinating hospital surge capacity surveillance. Currently, she works as an epidemiologist in Sciensano’s Public Health Genomics unit and shifted her focus to the cancer field. Her main interest lies in the multifactorial complexity of health issues, where both genetic and environmental factors play a role. Addressing these research questions requires the integration of diverse real-world data sources.
14h00: Invited Speaker: Njeru Njagi (MASTAT)
Njeru Njagi is an Associate Professor at the Warwick Medical School – University of Warwick in the UK. With a background in Mathematics, he obtained his Master’s (VLIR-UOS scholarship) and PhD in Biostatistics at Universiteit Hasselt in Belgium. He specialised in the analysis of complex routine health data in cancer epidemiology and taught Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Njeru sits on the Academic Reference Group of the UK’s National Health Service Race and Health Observatory and serves as Faculty for the international biennial Corsican Summer School on Modern Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology held in Corsica, France. Njeru has longstanding research and training collaboration with the University of Nairobi in Kenya and has previously been Visiting Faculty on Longitudinal Data Analysis at the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics of Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
In this talk, Njeru will draw from his experience working with routine health data in cancer epidemiology and highlight some of the: (i) Unique complexities and challenges in analysis, and (ii) Useful skills for biostatisticians and epidemiologists aspiring to conduct research in this area.
14h30: Invited Speaker: Deborah Jael Herrera (MEPI)
Deborah Jael Herrera is a Predoctoral Researcher at the University of Antwerp, specializing in social epidemiology and public health. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Medicine and Health Sciences (2022–present), focusing on inclusive cancer prevention, including colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination. Her doctoral research is funded by Kom op tegen Kanker, supporting the development of risk-stratified screening and shared decision-making tools for cancer prevention. Before her PhD, she completed a Master’s in Epidemiology (2020–2022) at the University of Antwerp, where she was awarded the VLIR-UOS Scholarship.
Her research spans multiple projects, including breast cancer screening disparities (CARES Project), gender-equitable cancer prevention (FIGHT-Cancer Project), and AI-assisted colorectal cancer screening (ORIENT Project). She has also led studies on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (UNCOVUH Project). With extensive experience in systematic reviews and shared decision-making research, she has contributed as a Lead Systematic Reviewer in projects developing risk-stratified cancer screening tools. In addition to publishing in peer-reviewed journals, she has conducted workshops on evidence-based methodologies, cancer prevention strategies, and systematic review techniques. Her contributions to cancer prevention research were recognized with the Frank Deboosere Prize (2024) from Kom op tegen Kanker.
15h00: Invited Speaker: Chellafe Ensoy-Musoro (MASTAT)
Chellafe Ensoy-Musoro is a member of the Manufacturing and Applied Statistics Unit at J&J Innovative Medicine, where she has been since 2021. Her work includes designing experiments, conducting validation studies, performing microbiological and environmental risk assessments, and engaging in continuous manufacturing studies. Chella also provides on-site statistical training for scientists in Beerse. Prior to this role, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Hasselt University, Belgium, where she earned her master's degree (under the VLIR-UOS scholarship) in 2010 and her PhD in biostatistics in 2014. Her expertise lies in spatio-temporal data analysis and (clustered) non-Gaussian data. During her academic career, she was involved in teaching, provided consultancy, engaged in research, and coordinated the International Course Program for the Master of Statistics.
In this presentation, Chella will highlight the insights gained during her transition from academia to industry, discussing key lessons learned throughout her ongoing professional journey. She will share her experiences in designing experiments and analyzing diverse data related to microbiological testing, elaborating on how these contributions impact drug development.
15h30: Panel discussion with invited alumni: 'What is the role of epidemiologists and statisticians in society: perspectives after studies'
17h00: End of workshop followed by a reception:
18h00: Departing