Robert Van Der Meer

Professor Robert van der Meer holds the position of Professor of Management Science at the University of Strathclyde, affiliated with Strathclyde Business School. He obtained his PhD in Operational Research from the University of Strathclyde, an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE), and a Cand. Econ. degree from the University of Amsterdam. His academic leadership roles include serving as Academic Director of the Strathclyde MBA program (2016–2019) and leading the development of the cross-faculty Supply Chain Management Masters Program.

• Education:
  • PhD in Operational Research, University of Strathclyde (2008)
  • MSc in Economics (Mathematical Economics Specialization), LSE
  • Cand. Econ. in Economics & Business Administration, University of Amsterdam
• Current Roles:
  • Principal Investigator on 4 active research projects
  • Co-Investigator on multiple grants (total £2.1M+ funding since 2003)

His research focuses on Health Economics, Healthcare Analytics, Healthcare Operations Management, and Supply Chain Strategy. Key contributions include:

• Healthcare Robotics: Largest hospital pharmacy automation project in the UK (NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde)
• Pancreatic Cancer Research: Co-developed diagnostic tools and cost-effectiveness models for early detection
• Covid-19 Response: Led modeling efforts for NHS Lanarkshire (2020–2021), winning the 'Outstanding Business Engagement' award

Recent publications emphasize biomarker-driven early cancer diagnosis, supply chain optimization in food industries, and healthcare decision-making analytics. His work frequently integrates simulation modeling, Bayesian networks, and mathematical optimization.

Awards include:

• 2021: 'Outstanding Business Engagement in Universities' (Herald Higher Education Awards)
• 2024: Second Place in Supply Chain and Logistics Competition

He has supervised 14 PhD students and 2 DBA candidates, contributing to over 50 peer-reviewed articles. Current projects include evaluating Scotland’s Early Cancer Diagnostic Centres (ECDCs) and analyzing biomarker-driven pancreatic cancer screening.

Labs/Teams: Strategic Partnership with NHS Lanarkshire, collaborations with UCL, Imperial College, and Oxford on pancreatic cancer initiatives.