Harry van Loen

Harry van Loen is a scientific expert and clinical data manager at the Institute of Tropical Medicine's Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) in Antwerp, Belgium, where he has worked since 2005. His expertise spans clinical data management for studies conducted in Belgium and Low and Middle Income Countries on various infectious diseases and neglected tropical diseases.

His educational background includes:

• Master in Science in Biology (Zoology) from the University of Antwerp (1980-1985)
• Attestation of 1 year attendance in Environmental Sciences from the University of Antwerp (1995-1996)

Van Loen specializes in clinical data management for infectious disease research, with particular focus on neglected tropical diseases, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, Ebola, and leishmaniasis. His work encompasses the full data management lifecycle for clinical trials and observational studies, including protocol development, database design, data collection systems, quality control, and regulatory compliance. He has contributed to research on co-infections (TB-HIV, HIV-Leishmaniasis), studies involving vulnerable populations (children, pregnant women), and emergency research responses.

His publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to high-impact clinical research, particularly in tropical medicine and infectious diseases. His work often addresses methodological challenges in data collection and management for complex field studies in resource-limited settings, with recent publications focusing on leprosy treatment monitoring, rabies vaccination protocols, visceral leishmaniasis/HIV co-infection management, tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, and neurological disorders in rural African settings.

As a member of the ITM's Data Access Committee, Van Loen is involved in reviewing external applications for research data access and supporting data sharing initiatives at ITM. His professional activities include coordinating data management for clinical trials, developing standard operating procedures, designing data collection tools, supervising data processes, ensuring regulatory compliance, and building data management capacity in low-resource settings.