Dr. HM van Santen moved her career in 2013 to Utrecht to support the Máxima initiative and to coordinate the endocrine care for children with cancer in the Princess Máxima Center.
She has co-authored > 50 publications on the endocrine effects of childhood cancer treatment, of which 27 as first or last author.
She is an associate professor and PI in the research program of Child Health, WKZ, UMCU and collaborates closely together with the Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, as co-PI in the group supportive care, late effects group and is team member of the department neuro-oncology. Internationally, she collaborates closely with the endocrine and late effects department of the St Jude’s Hospital (Dr W Chemaitilly, Dr M Hudson, Dt T Merchant).
Her research program focusses on the endocrine effects of childhood cancer treatment, with special interest for the thyroid gland, pituitary gland and hypothalamus aiming to preserve an intact endocrine system in children with cancer enabling normal growth and development of the child during and after childhood cancer treatment.
She is chair of the Late Effects of Childhood Cancer International Guideline Harmonization Groups (IGHG) for thyroid and hypothalamic-pituitary disorders, and member of the IGHG working groups for male and female gonadal toxicity and preservation of fertility and metabolic syndrome. She is chair of the Dutch and the European Guideline for Thyroid cancer in children and the coordinator of the NFU/ ENDO-ERN expertise center Thyroid Tumors in Utrecht. She is member of the SKION craniopharyngioma working group, the SIOP supportive care group, the SIOP low grade glioma working group, the national consortium for Late effects of treatment for childhood thyroid carcinoma, the consortium of the Dexadagen-2 study, the Dutch Growth Hormone Advisory board and has a consultative function for the “Cyberpoli” for thyroid diseases and craniopharyngioma.