Jan Deprest MD PhD FRCOG is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Faculty of Medicine (KU Leuven) and its University Hospitals Leuven and at University College London. He is the Academic Chair (2012-2021) of the Department of Development and Regeneration, under which Obstetrics and Gynaecology is resorting. He is the Director of the Training Center for Surgical Technologies, with Prof Paul Herijgers. He is member of the Group Board of Biomedical Sciences KU Leuven (2014-2017).
In Leuven, he is the clinical director of the fetal therapy program as well as the co-director of program for female pelvic floor dysfunction. He is also a member of the staff of Gynaecology.
His research is mainly translational and dedicated to fetal medical and surgical therapy, as well as novel surgical and cell therapy solutions for pelvic floor dysfunction.
His part time assignment to University College London (2015-2020) is 40% of his time, both in research and clinical in fetal surgery, at the Institute of Women’s Health.
He established the Eurofoetus consortium, dedicated to the development of instruments and techniques for minimally invasive fetal and placental surgery. The group demonstrated that laser surgery in identical twins with “twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome” yields the best outcome. The Leuven group pioneered minimally invasive antenatal treatment of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, which is currently being evaluated in a randomized clinical trial (www.TOTALtrial.eu).
He published over 470 peer reviewed papers and supervises/d over 25 doctoral students.
He is Editor of Prenatal Diagnosis (Section: Fetal Imaging and Therapy), Editor in Chief Gynaecologic
Surgery (2013), and International Editorial Board member of BJOG.
He is board member of the national society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (V.V.O.G) where he is chairing the scientific committee. He serves on the scientific committee of IUGA and EUGA.
He is the past president of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society (2014-2015).
