Prof Rene Van Weeren

Qualified: In 1975 he started the course in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Utrecht. In 1982 he worked for 6 months at the Empresa Agro-Pecua de Changalane in Changalane, Mozambique. In 1983 he finished his studies cum laude. Institution/Practice: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. Career: He worked from 1983 until 1991 at the Department of General and Large Animal Surgery of the Utrecht Veterinary Faculty, first as a resident, later as an assistant professor. In 1989 he defended his PhD-thesis "Skin displacement in equine kinematic gait analysis". From August 1991 until November 1993 he worked at the Clinical Department of the Veterinary School of the Universidad Nacional in Heredia, Costa Rica. In November he returned to Utrecht, becoming an associate professor in 1996. He became a charter member of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1991 and a board-certified diplomate in June 1994. He is a diplomate in equine surgery of the Royal Netherlands Veterinary Association, and a member of the Dutch Association for Equine Medicine, and of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. He was appointed as a full professor in Equine Musculoskeletal Biology in 2007. Currently he is mainly involved in scientific research and was the scientific manager of the large project that focused on the influence of exercise on the development of the equine musculoskeletal system in general and on osteochondrosis in particular.

Interests: His areas of interest and expertise are articular cartilage, tendons and biomechanics. He has been a supervisor of 18 PhD students, who have obtained their degree in the past years. Currently is the supervisor or co-supervisor of 8 PhD students, who will be graduating within the next few years. He is an associate editor of Equine Veterinary Journal and has been external examiner for PhD students abroad at various occasions in the UK, France, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Norway and Finland. He is author or co-author of more than 175 peer-reviewed scientific publications or book chapters. He is currently Head of department of the Utrecht Department of Equine Sciences.