/news/carla-hollak-awarded-academy-medal
Carla Hollak, Professor of Metabolic Diseases, in particular hereditary metabolic diseases, at the University of Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC, will receive the KNAW Academy Medal on 30 May. Hollak is a leading figure in the field of socially engaged medicine and an inspiration for a new generation of physicians. She is also a driving force behind the debate around the accessibility and affordability of medicines. The Academy awards the Medal every two years to an individual who has made a special contribution to Dutch science.
Hollak's research career has focused mainly on rare metabolic disorders in adults. She is a pioneer in this field, having conducted numerous studies on Gaucher disease and Fabry disease in particular. She also initiated and edited the first international textbook on metabolic disorders in adults. In 2004, she set up an outpatient clinic and, together with other university medical centres, developed a network to draw up guidelines for treating metabolic disorders in adults.
Hollak's long experience investigating drugs for rare diseases has enabled her to see both the advantages and disadvantages of the current system of drug development, accessibility and affordability. She conducts research into that system and makes suggestions for improvements. Hollak gained national fame for ensuring, together with pharmacist Marleen Kemper, that a medicine for a rare disease remained available through a pharmacy preparation. In 2019, Hollak’s involvement led to the establishment of the Medicine for Society (Medicijn voor de Maatschappij) platform, which aims to improve the availability of these ‘orphan drugs’. Hollak links science to practice, from academic product development to regulatory access processes.
Ceremony
The Academy Medal will be presented on Tuesday 30 May during the Academy Afternoon (Akademiemiddag), the Academy’s annual meeting. Jury president Ron Fouchier will deliver the laudatio. The programme will include lectures by Peter-Paul Verbeek, Rector Magnificus of the University of Amsterdam, and Academy President Marileen Dogterom.
About the Academy Medal
The Academy Medal was established in 1983. Since then, the Academy has awarded the Medal every two years to an individual who has made a special contribution to the advancement of science in the Netherlands in a broader sense. Previous winners include Paul Schnabel, Robert-Jan Smits, Trudy Dehue and Jaap van Dissel.