معرفی
Krina Zondervan is Professor of Reproductive & Genomic Epidemiology at the University of Oxford, where she serves as Head of Department and Co-Director of the Endometriosis CaRe Centre. She is a Fellow by Special Election at St Edmund Hall. Her academic career spans over two decades at Oxford, where she leads groundbreaking research on women's health disorders, particularly endometriosis.
Dr. Zondervan received her MSc in Biomedical Sciences (Cum Laude, 1995) from Leiden University, Netherlands, followed by a DPhil (1999) on the epidemiology of chronic pelvic pain at Oxford's Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. She furthered her expertise with an MSc in Genetic Epidemiology (2001) from Erasmus University Rotterdam and conducted research at the Queensland Institute for Medical Research and the University of Pittsburgh.
Her research focuses on understanding the pathogenesis of endometriosis through genomic, molecular, and environmental epidemiological approaches. She co-founded the International Endometriosis Genome Consortium (IEGC) and has led large-scale genome-wide association studies involving over 60,000 women with endometriosis. Her team also developed the WERF EPHect standardization protocols now implemented in more than 60 research centers worldwide. Her publications reveal a strong emphasis on genetic determinants of endometriosis, its comorbidities with pain and inflammatory conditions, and potential therapeutic targets.
- Outstanding Female Scientist (AcademiaNet, Wellcome Trust nomination, 2013)
- Honorary Skou Professorship at University of Aarhus, Denmark (2019)
- Honorary Fellowship ad eundem by Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, UK (2022)
- Honorary Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2024)
Professor Zondervan mentors numerous doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers while leading a large collaborative team. Her research is supported by major funding bodies including The Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, National Institutes of Health USA, World Endometriosis Research Foundation, European Union, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with industry partners. She has established strong translational research links with industry to facilitate the application of research findings into clinical practice.
Based within the Oxford Endometriosis CaRe Centre, her research group collaborates with an extensive international network of research groups. They work closely with the WERF EPHect network and have developed protocols that have been adopted by research centers globally. Her team includes research nurses, data scientists, program managers, and numerous doctoral students working on various aspects of endometriosis research.
