Liesbeth Winter

Fascinated by (patho)physiology and endocrinopathy during High School (magna cum laude), Medicine (cum laude) and Medical Doctor’s training (2004, magna cum laude), Dr. E.M. (Liesbeth) Winter aimed to become a translational clinician scientist as internist-endocrinologist. To get trained in basic science, she performed her PhD in Embryology (2009, cum laude), followed by clinical training as internist-endocrinologist (2009-2017) in Leiden and specialist Registrar in London (2014). In 2017 she started as staff-member with a tenure track position, and since 2022 as senior staff member, appointed Associate Professor, at the department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology of the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), and since only then started her career as specialist in bone diseases. She mainly focuses on complex osteoporosis, (rare) metabolic bone diseases and calcium/phosphate disturbances.

She combines clinical activities with teaching and research. Her clinical tasks include outpatient clinics in endocrinology and metabolic bone diseases & calcium/phosphate disturbances, consultations in endocrinology and general internal medicine. She supervises students, residents, fellows, doctor’s assistants, nurse practitioners. She is responsible for the chronic non-bacterial osteomyelitis (CNO)/ sternocostoclavicular hyperostosis (SCCH) care path as well as the osteoporosis care path. For the latter she has developed a value-based health care trajectory. With respect to the former, she has strong collaboration with the CNO/SCCH patient associations. She teaches students (LUMC/Technical University Delft), nurses, residents, as well as colleagues in the field with various (invited) local, national and international lectures. She conducts the pathology teaching of internal medicine residents.

As PI Dr. Winter conducts a translational research program, investigating bone rhythmicity and glucocorticoid effects on bone. She recently described that disturbance in circadian rhythm is detrimental for bone health (FASEB J, 2019) and that a flattened glucocorticoid rhythm in itself is detrimental to bone (Aging Cell, 2021). She received various grants for this research line (Elise Mathilde Fund in 2017, Preasidium Libertatis Grant in 2020 -grant for the ‘most talented young researcher of Leiden University’-, Zaaijer Fund for protected research time in 2021). The research intertwines metabolic research, glucocorticoid signalling, bone diseases and is strongly acquainted to the European Reference Network and Referral Care functions of the LUMC.

She is also PI in translational research on the rare metabolic bone disease chronic non-bacterial osteomyelitis (CNO)/ sternocostoclavicular hyperostosis (SCCH), for which she received a grant from the Dutch Arthritis Foundation to perform a randomized clinical trial on pamidronate treatment (PAmidronate for Pain in SCCH, PAPS trial) and to study the use of NaF Pet as diagnostic and prognostic tool. She performs research on impact microindentation (international expert trainer in impact microindentation) in complex osteoporosis and metabolic bone diseases, and she is involved in various other clinical trials and clinical research projects including bone diseases after solid organ transplantation, complex osteoporosis and parathyroid disorders. She currently supervises 4 PhD students, and has supervised many students for their scientific internship.

She has received multiple grants and prizes among which the prestigious Marie Parijs prijs for the researcher of the LUMC in 2022, a Dioraphte grant as co-applicant for a randomized controlled trial in fibrous dysplasia patients and she was elected European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS) -academy member in 2018 (https://ects-academy.org/).
She is nationally and internationally recognized as expert in the field which is reflected by her various invitations to speak at international congresses and webinars. She serves in various committee, e.g. the Board of the Dutch Society of Endocrinology, Security and Privacy Board of the LUMC, Research Committee of the Department of Internal Medicine in the LUMC, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Early Stage Investigator (ESI) committee, multiple ECTS committees, and she serves as co-chair of the International Federation of Muskuloskeletal Research Societies (IFMRS) Future Global Leaders Committee. She serves as expert member on the parathyroid (PARAT) working group from the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE). She is senior editor of Endocrine Connections (affiliated to ESE).

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