Sandra van Dijk starts as scientific coordinator at Healthy Society

Health psychologist Dr Sandra van Dijk started as scientific coordinator and quartermaster of the Healthy Society Hub, program of Medical Delta in cooperation with Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities. Van Dijk combines the position with her current job at Leiden University, where she is senior lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The Healthy Society Hub aims to improve the health and well-being of all sections of the population and reduce health inequalities. To achieve this, the hub stimulates interdisciplinary scientific research and education in collaboration with citizens, knowledge institutions, care organisations, municipalities and other social partners.

Van Dijk will further develop the Healthy Society Hub and stimulate collaborations, among other things, by mapping and bundling existing initiatives and solutions. Ultimately, a powerful partnership must emerge that serves as the ecosystem for innovation in the field of health, welfare and prevention. In addition, a new Medical Delta scientific program on the same theme will start in the short term.

Greater focus on health and prevention

Rising healthcare costs and increasing attention for the role of prevention require a broad approach to health. Within Medical Delta and Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities, much is already being done in the field of innovation and research on health improvement and prevention. "I am excited to stimulate interdisciplinary cooperation and co-creation between different scientists, healthcare organisations, companies, governments and citizens," says Van Dijk. "There already is a multicolored palette of beautiful initiatives to use towards a healthier society and to tackle health inequalities. I see this position as a wonderful opportunity to contribute to this."

Van Dijk will be part of the Medical Delta staff office. Managing Director David de Glint sees Van Dijk's arrival as a great addition to the organisation. "Our existing scientific programs and living labs already partly meet the growing need for more insight and attention to prevention and health, and with the Healthy Society Hub, we want to accelerate this. With her knowledge, experience, enthusiasm and background in interdisciplinary scientific research, I am convinced that Sandra is the right person to make that happen."

Prof. Dr. Wim van den Doel, Dean of Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities adds: "With the arrival of Sandra van Dijk, we see another good step forward with the Healthy Society theme. That is a theme in which the universities and university medical centers in South Holland excel and can strengthen each other. We complement each other with our broad range of scientific disciplines and together we can really make a difference to health issues in a social context."