Gertjan van Ommen

Wederom een gesneuvelde klasgenoot van het Comeniuslyceum. En latere buurman op Kattenburg; toen samen Ria en naar blijkt met haar tot het laatst. Mijn condoleances aan haar en de rest van de familie.

I am Heartbroken, an amazing scientist, a brilliant mind, a very very dear friend for more then 30 years, I will be looking for him standing by the microphone at the end of lectures asking the questions that would excite our minds. He will be missed.

I am so sorry to hear of the death of Gertjan and my condolences to his wife - I followed him on Twitter which often had a canine theme with photos of their beloved dogs. I always looked forward to chatting to GJ at the ESHG meetings and welcomed meeting a fellow European at the ASHG meetings. His contributions were immense and we will all miss his wisdom.

It is with great sadness that I can join the many colleagues in mourning. I have known Gertjan for at least 20-25 years. In addition of being a great and innovative human genetic scientist, he was a kind person, always interested in the well being of his friend colleagues. In addition, as an Editor-in-Chief he established the European Journal of Human Genetics as a forefront publication in our field. He coupled deep knowledge with wisdom. He recognized the best way to go about this with great success. We lose an esteemed scientist and a good friend. During rthe ASHG meeting at Houston in October 2019 I had an extended chat with him. It turns out that it had to be last one. Eberhard Passarge, Department of Human Genetics, University Hospital Essen, Germany.

What a loss ! I applaud the life and work of GertJan, an outstanding geneticist and dear friend. Condolences to his family.

The passing of Gert-Jan van Ommen is indeed a great loss to the scientific and Biobanking community. He was a champion for quality, precision and innovation. I will always remember him for his wisdom, intellect and guidance during BBMRI-ERIC meetings, when I was privileged to represent IARC in the organisation. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. #bbmrieric

OrphaNews, edition 27 November 2020 Remembering Prof. Dr. Gertjan van Ommen (1947 - 2020) “Start your research with rare diseases. If they reveal their secrets, then you can extrapolate them to more common diseases with similar phenotypic features” – Prof Dr. Gertjan van Ommen Orphanet regrets to announce the loss of our colleague and friend Prof. Dr. Gertjan van Ommen, on 7th November 2020. Gertjan was a key figure in the rare disease community and was coordinator of Orphanet Netherlands from 2010 to 2018, having previously worked on the FP7 project RD-Platform with the Orphanet team from 2008. Gertjan leaves a lasting mark in the field of human genetics and genomics, a field in which he worked tirelessly in the pursuit of excellence, bringing his creative thinking, rigour and keen wit to the table. He was Professor of Human Genetics at Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), and the Head of Department of Human Genetics at LUMC from 1992-2012, and was also founder of the Leiden Genome Technology Center and Director of the Center for Medical Systems Biology. His personal academic work focused on neurodegenerative and neuromuscular disorders such as Huntington’s disease and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, playing a main role in discovering treatments for these diseases; under his supervision, the antisense-mediated exon skipping therapy approach for Duchenne muscular dystrophy was pioneered and brought into a first clinical trial at LUMC. During his career Gertjan was a was involved in the application of genome research and diagnostic technology in both the research and clinical contexts, and he always kept in sight the impact of genetic and genomic advances on society. He was also a key force in national and international research infrastructures in the human genetics field, in particular biobanking. Many of our readers will also have known him as Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Human Genetics, past president of the Human Genome Organisation (1998-2000), and of the European Society of Human Genetics (2003-4) and Dutch Society of Human Genetics (1993-2000) and member of several committees in the fields of genetics, genomics, biobanking, intellectual property issues, and ethics. During his retirement, Gertjan continued was actively involved in the area of biobanking and continued to lead the EJHG from strength to strength. In the past years he was a champion of the 1+ Million Genomes Initiative, and dedicated time to fostering collaboration at European level towards the implementation of genome-based health. Our colleagues at Orphanet Netherlands, Judith Carlier - de Leeuw van Weenen, Wendy van Zelst-Stams, Martina Cornel, Petra van Overveld, had these words to share: “Gertjan started in Leiden with unraveling the genetic defects of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and soon became an expert on rare diseases in general. He advocated to ‘focus on everything’. Lessons from rare diseases could be used for common conditions. Lessons from the health care services for one rare disease in one country could be used elsewhere. In his nine years as a national coordinator of Orphanet Netherlands, he was a figurehead and inspirator for us. Even after his retirement from Orphanet Netherlands, years after his official retirement, he stayed on top of everything until the end. His contribution for the rare disease field in the Netherlands and worldwide, always with enthusiasm and creative quotes, has been immense. He always saw the patient behind the scientific question and understood the importance to bring together all different stakeholders in the rare disease field. We will remember him as an excellent translational scientist that always pushed us, with humor, to think out of the box. We will miss him.” Gertjan's legacy will also be found in the inspiration and mentoring he provided over the years to many colleagues and young researchers around the world, instilling in those he worked with a passion to improve healthcare and to make sure scientific discoveries lead to better outcomes for patients. The rare disease community and the Orphanet family have lost a tremendously valued member. He will be dearly missed. We extend our sincerest sympathy to his family and friends at this time and invite those who wish to do so to leave a message of condolence for his family and friends.

“Start your research with rare diseases. If they reveal their secrets, then you can extrapolate them to more common diseases with similar phenotypic features” Gertjan started in Leiden with unraveling the genetic defects of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and soon became an expert on rare diseases in general. He advocated to ‘focus on everything’. Lessons from rare diseases could be used for common conditions. Lessons from the health care services for one rare disease in one country could be used elsewhere. In his nine years as a national coordinator of Orphanet Netherlands, he was a figurehead and inspirator for us. Even after his retirement from Orphanet Netherlands, years after his official retirement, he stayed on top of everything until the end. His contribution for the rare disease field in the Netherlands and worldwide, always with enthusiasm and creative quotes, has been immense. He always saw the patient behind the scientific question and understood the importance to bring together all different stakeholders in the rare disease field. We will remember him as an excellent translational scientist that always pushed us, with humor, to think out of the box. We will miss him. Orphanet NL team Judith Carlier - de Leeuw van Weenen, Wendy van Zelst-Stams, Martina Cornel and Petra van Overveld