News & Events
of the Peripheral Nerve SocietyCongrats to Prof. Pieter van Doorn on his Retirement
On 23 January 2026, a symposium was held in Rotterdam NL to celebrate the retirement of Prof Pieter van Doorn, PNS Past President. Entitled “Peripheral nerve diseases – from care to cure”, the speakers included five PNS members and local colleagues of varying interests and backgrounds. A common theme was Pieter’s quiet leadership, excellence, hard work, and encouragement of others especially the young. Past PNS President Prof Richard A Lewis made a video appearance talking about Pieter’s role on guiding the PNS through the challenges of the COVID lockdowns.
The program ended with a wonderful surprise. The last speaker was the Mayor of Rotterdam who appeared with his mayoral necklace but seemingly forgot his necktie. He presented Prof. Em. van Doorn with the Order of the Netherlands Lion medal Knights Class, a Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Medal recognizes merit in the arts, science, sport and literature. Well deserved!
After libations and appetizers, a group went to The Royal Rowing and Sailing club ‘de Maas’ for a wonderful dinner. The evening ended with a typical Dutch dancing party.
Congratulations to Prof. Em. Pieter van Doorn!
Order of the Netherlands Lion medal Knights Class, presented to Prof. van Doorn by the Mayor of Rotterdam.
Program Schedule:
The future of Immune-mediated Polyneuropathies
12.45 Welcome and Introduction: Prof. Bart C. Jacobs (Department of Neurology and Immunology, Erasmus MC Rotterdam)
12.55 Evidence from the lab to the clinic: why treatments for GBS fail or cure: Prof. Em. Hugh J. Willison (School of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow, UK)
13.15 Treatments for CIDP: from steroids to many choices and more to come: Prof. Em. David R. Cornblath (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Baltimore, USA)
13.35 Beyond GBS and CIDP, the rise of autoimmune nodopathy: Prof. Luis A. Querol (Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain)
13.55 Real-world data to discover new treatments for GBS and CIDP as a model for other rare diseases: Prof. Bart C. Jacobs (Department of Neurology and Immunology, Erasmus MC Rotterdam)
14.15 Prof. Em. Richard A.C. Hughes (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK)
The Rotterdam Experience: Chronic polyneuropathy and Pompe disease
14.50 From clinical reasoning to epidemiological thinking: insights from the Rotterdam Study: Prof. M. Arfan Ikram (Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC Rotterdam)
15.10 The future of treatment for rare diseases: lessons learned from Pompe disease: Prof. Ans T. van der Ploeg (Erasmus MC Rotterdam)
15.40 Peripheral nerves matter: Prof. Pieter A. van Doorn (Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC Rotterdam)
16.10 Dr. Esther Brusse (Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC Rotterdam)
16.20 Prof. Peter A.E. Sillevis Smitt (Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC Rotterdam)
David R. Cornblath, MD
Member-at-Large, PNS Board of Directors