AG&M annual report 2018

AG&M Grants 2018
Maartje Singendonk
After having obtained my medical degree and a bachelor in mathematics,
I started my job as a PhD candidate at the department of Pediatric
Gastroenterology and Nutrition of the Emma Children’s Hospital/
Amsterdam UMC. My PhD focused on three core domains. First, I
performed pathophysiological motility studies of the upper gastrointestinal
tract in relation to swallowing disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux
disease and achalasia. As this research revealed important caveats in
the diagnostic evaluation of motility disorders in children, I focused on
improving diagnostic testing and validation of novel analysis techniques.
Last, I implemented the results of the above to assess and predict
treatment outcome in children with gastroesophageal motility disorders.
I took advantage of the collaborative environment, learning from experts
in the field and establishing contacts in different centers around the world
committed to foster my independent development and to pursue my own
ideas. I am curious and enthusiastic about my work and that of others,
always trying to understand and explore potentials of multidisciplinary
research and state-of-the art technologies. I am an active member of
several international working groups and co-authored the international
guideline on pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease.
By initiating and conducting several pilot and validation studies, our group
has built a strong body of evidence supporting our analytic approach of
esophageal motility disorders in children.
The AG&M talent development grant allows me…
… to bring this analytic approach into practice in a randomized controlled clinical trial that evaluates two different
treatment strategies for achalasia – a rare and severe esophageal motility disorder causing dysphagia and always
requires treatment – in children. The grant also allowed a return visit to work with my former co-supervisor Prof.
Omari and his team in Adelaide, Australia to work on the development and implementation of an online portal to
share, store and analyze esophageal motility tracings in an online database (www.swallowgateway.com). The use of
this portal will take our research on pediatric esophageal motility disorders to a next level by allowing multicenter
research and knowledge sharing. In the next few years, I hope our work will lead to better understanding of the
pathophysiology of pediatric esophageal motility disorders to provided better targeted treatment strategies.
Maartje Singendonk
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