Judith Prins - Biography#

Judith Prins' background is in medical psychology and behavioural medicine. She obtained her PhD degree in Medical Science at the University of Nijmegen in 2003. As PhD, she demonstrated the importance of psychological mechanisms in chronic fatigue syndrome and was the first to develop an effective psychological therapy, which was published in the Lancet and internationally heavily debated. Especially patient advocates contested her research findings. After personal threats, she gradually abandoned her research into CFS. Subsequently, she worked as a clinical psychologist in psycho-oncology and was appointed as associate professor (2006). Since 2007 she is chair of the department of Medical Psychology and in 2009 she was promoted to full professor in Medical Psychology.

Her psycho-oncology research group started in 2009 and is (inter)nationally recognized as a pioneer in three innovative themes, web-based psychological interventions, assessment and management of fear of cancer recurrence, and adolescents and young adults with cancer. Over the course of her career, she built up a substantial knowledge base in the field of psycho-oncology. She is president of the Netherlands Behavioural Medicine Federation (NBMF) and member of the ISBM Governing Council. For many years, she has been chair of the scientific oncology board of the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) and member of the psychosocial advisory board of Pink Ribbon. Judith Prins (co)authored more than 200 peer reviewed papers, 20 book chapters and several national oncology guidelines