Team

Kristel van Eeden

After years of managing the logistics and administration of her own company, Kristel decided it was time for something new. After getting her degree as doctor’s assistant in 2016, she started working at the outpatient clinic of Internal Medicine and Tropical Diseases of the Amsterdam UMC, location AMC. This is where she discovered here interest in infectious diseases. Among other things, she supported the HIV-nurse consultants and did the pre-triage for the Lyme outpatient clinic. Therefore, it was a logical step to start working as a research assistant at the AGE_hIV Cohort Study in 2021

Laura del Grande

Laura Del Grande is originally from Zurich, Switzerland, where she was born and raised. She completed her HBO-V nursing training and obtained her diploma in 2003. In August 2006, she moved to the Netherlands. After working for a year on the orthopedics ward at OLVG, she joined the GGD in 2009 as a research nurse. Since 2016, she has been involved in the AGEhIV study.

Peter Reiss

In 2009, Peter Reiss took the initiative for the AGE_hIV Cohort Study. He has studied medicine at the University of Amsterdam. After his training in Internal Medicine at the OLVG Hospital in Amsterdam, he specialized in Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital of Leiden. He is emeritus (since 2011) professor of Internal Medicine, specializing in the complications of the treatment of HIV infection, affiliated with the Amsterdam UMC (location AMC). Currently, he is senior fellow at the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development and staff member of the Global Health Division of the Amsterdam UMC. Until 2021, he was director of the Dutch HIV Monitoring Foundation.

Marc van der Valk

(principal investigator)

Prof. Marc van der Valk, MD, works as an internist and infectious disease specialist in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Amsterdam UMC. In addition, he has served as a board member of the HIV Monitoring Foundation (SHM) since 2021. In June 2021, he was appointed professor of Internal Medicine, specializing in the treatment of HIV infection, at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Amsterdam. He has extensive clinical and research experience in the field of HIV and viral hepatitis. His research aims to improve the understanding and treatment of HIV, with a focus on comorbidities and co-infections. Within the AGE_hIV Cohort Study, he took over from Peter Reiss as principal investigator in 2025.

Maarten Schim van der Loeff

Prof. Maarten Schim van der Loeff, MD, PhD, works as a senior epidemiologist in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Amsterdam Public Health Service (GGD Amsterdam). In addition, he has been an emeritus (since 2025) professor of epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections at the University of Amsterdam / Amsterdam UMC. He is a physician specializing in Public Health and an Epidemoplogy. He has extensive and varied research experience; his current research focuses on sexually transmitted infections, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, HPV, and HIV. Maarten has been a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands since 2024.

Neeltje Kootstra

Prof. Dr. Neeltje Kootstra works as a senior scientist at the department of experimental immunology at the Amsterdam UMC. She is the head of the Laboratory for Viral Immune Pathogenesis and has been appointed Professor of Immune Pathogenesis of Viral Infections and Interventions at Faculty of Medicine of the University of Amsterdam. Her research focusses on host-virus interactions and dysregulation of the immune response during chronic infections.

Jessica van der Mannen

Jessica van der Mannen studied health sciences at VU Amsterdam. During her studies, she gained experience as a clinical researcher in Johannesburg, South Africa. She then worked as a research coordinator in the Department of Internal Medicine at OLVG. In 2026, she began her PhD research as part of the AGE_hIV Cohort Study.