Maike Sweegers

As a movement scientist I developed a large interest in physical activity and exercise rehabilitation in patients with cancer. In October 2020, I joined Martijn Stuiver's group as a postdoctoral researcher. During my first year, I worked on the development of clinical practice guidelines for physiotherapy in oncology. Currently, I am involved in a European project investigating the effects of exercise on fatigue and quality of life in patients with metastatic breast cancer and perspectives of these patients towards exercise. Furthermore, I collaborate with Martijn Stuiver and Emine Akdemir in a project investigating the effects of prehabilitation on perioperative complications in patients with bladder cancer.

During my PhD at the Amsterdam UMC, I coordinated a multicenter randomized controlled trial investigating mechanisms of exercise in patients with cancer and evaluated patient’s perspectives of a supervised exercise program. I investigated accelerometer data in patients treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer and I was involved in an international collaboration where we combined individual patient data to investigate moderators of the effects of exercise and psychosocial interventions on multiple health outcomes such as fatigue, physical fitness and quality of life. After my PhD, I worked at the Dutch blood bank for 18 months. Here, I studied changes in ferritin levels after whole blood donation and coordinated a stepped wedge randomized controlled trial investigating ferritin-guided donation intervals.