Krista Kuitwaard

My background

I studied medicine at the Free University in Amsterdam. After obtaining my medical degree in 2003, I worked for one year at the department of Neurology in Alkmaar. Here my interest in inflammatory neuropathies started which resulted in the publication of a case report of a GBS patient presenting with pain and meningeal irritation.

Thereafter I worked as a resident in Neurology at the Erasmus Medical Centre and started my Neurology training in 2005 (head: Prof. P.A.E. Sillevis Smitt). Parallel to this residency I started a PhD trajectory under the supervision of Prof. P.A. van Doorn and Prof. B.C. Jacobs. After completing my Neurology residency in 2013, I worked for 10 months as a Neurologist and Clinical Neurophysiologist at the Erasmus Medical Centre.

Since 2014 I have been working as a Neurologist and Clinical Neurophysiologist in the Albert Schweitzer hospital in Dordrecht. I successfully defended my thesis: GBS and CIDP, Spectrum and IVIg treatment in 2018. Since 2014 I have combined my clinical work as a Neurologist in the ASz with research in the Erasmus MC.

My projects

My research focusses on the diagnosis and treatment of GBS and CIDP. I have been awarded the C.U. Ariëns Kappers prize from the Dutch Society of Neurology for a study on the pharmacokinetics of IVIg in GBS and received the SPIN award for a study investigating genetic biomarkers associated with IVIg treatment response in CIDP. I have experience in setting up and running multicentre RCTs of IVIg treatment in CIDP.

Currently I am Principal Investigator for the CIDP mimics study in which we aim to improve the diagnosis of CIDP. Distinguishing between CIDP and conditions that resemble it is important because misdiagnosis is common and has major consequences for patients and society. Furthermore, I am supervising PhD students, and I am involved in several research projects regarding demyelinating and axonal neuropathies.