Beyond the scientist: Roger Brüggemann

13 November 2018

Roger Brüggemann is hospital pharmacist, clinical pharmacologist and associate professor of clinical pharmacology of anti-infectives in special patient populations. His focus is on Patient health care and research on special patient populations like haematology and intensive care unit patients with fungal infections. He is chair of the antimicrobial stewardship team and member of the Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases Support Team

Where and when were you born?
I was born in a small village 10 kilometers south of Maastricht, Eijsden on October 29, 1973
Where do you live and with whom?
I live with my wife Monique and our three kids, Jasmijn (11), Viggo (10) and Mats (7) in Arnhem
Who was your role model when you were a kid?
I don’t think that I had one specific role model. But I loved the TV series Call to Glory focussing on a fighter pilot’s live. My parents let me stay up till the end of each episode which was little behind regular bedtimes. Ever since that TV series I had set my mind to become a pilot.
Why aren’t you doing the same thing now as your role model (or do you?)
In 1992, I subscribed for the national pilot academy. At that time the movie Top Gun had driven the number of subscriptions to an unprecedented number of 1200. Only 24 passed the selection procedure. Unfortunately I wasn’t one of them.
What is the thing in your (work or other) history that you are most proud of?
With regards to work related matters: I am truly proud of our fungal team at Radboudumc. Together with Paul Verweij and Frank van de Veerdonk and Jacques Meis we have setup the Center of Expertise for Mycology Radboudumc/CWZ. We get the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinairy team focussing on a combination of complex patient health care and research. Findings from our research are directly translated to patient healthcare and questions from patients with fungal infections drive new ideas for research.
What is it that you would like to achieve in work in the next 5 to 10 years?
I want to maintain a focus on the combination of patient health care and research at Radboudumc. There is a lot of work to be done in the field of mycology and I think we have found a great way to put this to practice. Our motto is: “breaking barriers in mycology”. Working together in a team with mutual recognition results in much synergism and provides a lot of energy hopefully resulting in new treatment modalities.
For what can we wake you up?
Gadgets and a nice mountainbike ride at dawn in the winter on the Hoge Veluwe.
What is your hobby and how good are you at it?
I love to ride bikes. Riding my road bike gives me the opportunity to be outdoors and helps me stay fit and enjoy nature. In the winters, when it is too cold to ride my racing bike, I go out on my mountainbike. The Arnhem / Nijmegen region is one of the most beautiful places in the Netherlands to cycle.
I have several good memories of cycling tours I made. Examples are the “Alpe d’Huzes” and the “All for Small charity ride (Paris-Nijmegen in three days)”. Both rides were in teams from Radboudumc. This summer I became a “Cinglé du Ventoux” which means that I climbed the Mont Ventoux three times on one day. We had planned to do this with three friends from Radboudumc but in the end one friend couldn’t make it because of a bike accident. Despite him not being part of the group, we decided to complete the challenge. Starting early in the morning with the sun rising and birds calling and family cheering along the road, provided a great memory. It would have been nicest if we would have completed it all three together but the ride itself was unforgettable.
In addition to my sport activities, I come to work on my (electric) bike on a daily basis. This is my way of contributing to the environment and in the same time maintain my health.
What is your biggest irritation?
People who see obstacles rather than opportunities.
Who would you like to invite for dinner, if you had the chance?
I would like to invite a professional cyclist like Tom Dumoulin, Mathieu van der Poel or Anna van der Breggen for dinner.
Being a professional cyclist requires much more than just pedalling. It is intense and ultimate demanding. These professional cyclist endeavour becoming the best in their field and keep training to achieve their goals. This necessitates them to go beyond boundaries but in the end lie the very rewarding victories.

Roger is member within the theme of Infectious diseases and global health.
 

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