Jan-Willem Alffenaar
Past-President of IATDMCT

From PhD student to Past President

My interest in TDM and Clinical Toxicology sparked when I started as a freshly graduated pharmacist in the laboratory of the hospital pharmacy of the University Medical Center Groningen. Prof Donald Uges and Marieke Sturkenboom taught me all the foundational skills needed to perform routine TDM and provide advice for intoxications when called at 2am in the morning. It was an amazing experience. Not surprisingly I enrolled into a PhD under primary supervision of Prof Uges on the topic of TDM infectious diseases with Prof Kosterink and Prof van der Werf as secondary supervisors.

During my PhD on TDM for Tuberculosis and Antifungals I was encouraged by my mentor to join IATDMCT and attend the conference. The meeting in Montreal, Canada was my first international conference and a great opportunity to meet other with an interest in TDM of antimicrobials. During the meeting I joined the Anti-infective Drugs Committee of which I became vice-chair and chair a couple of years later.

After I had finished my PhD I remained interested in research and worked on a range of TDM projects in infectious diseases. To overcome some of the challenges in implementing TDM I embarked on an analytical journey exploring alternative sampling strategies. The Society had a committee with a special interest in Alternative Sampling so I joined the committee to learn from various experts in the field like Prof Christoph Stove. My passion for bringing TDM to those who need it made me specialise further in dried blood spot analysis. Together with Christophe Stove and several committee members we wrote the first international guideline for dried blood spot analysis and validation. When the position of vice-chair of the committee became vacant, I volunteered.

During these, years serving as a committee member of the Anti-Infective drug Committee and Alternative Sampling Committee, many friendships were made and many collaborative projects were setup and resulted in publications on a variety of TDM topics. Serving as editorial board member of TDM, member of scientific program committee of Rotterdam Conference, and being a recipient of the Victor Armstrong Young investigator award are highlights of my journey as member of the Society.

The election of President reflects both my ambition to provide a better service to our patients through research and education as well the trust and confidence members have placed in my leadership, vision, and commitment to advancing our Society. I’m very grateful of having had the opportunity to serve as President over the past years.

Reflecting on my key priorities as President significant progress have been made to enhance inclusivity and diversity within our society. We must work to create an environment where all voices are heard, and all members are supported in their pursuit of scientific excellence. This included creating more opportunities such as travel grants for Young Scientists, a Mentor-Mentee program and symposium speaker support for members from less resourced settings. The emphasis on regional activities to facilitate interaction between members without the burden of high travel costs or being from home for a long time has been a great success with sections in various stages of maturation ranging from having organised a regional 2-day conference by RAPS to the recently founded sections for Africa and Eastern Mediterranean. Although I’m now Past President, I’m still full of energy and I’m supporting the President in his role to lead our Society.

I see it as a duty of all senior members of our Society to inspire the next generation of clinicians and scientists and be their mentors and role models to ensure that they have the skills and attitude to tackle the problems of tomorrow.

For all the young scientists, take the opportunities that are provided by the society, be proactive, ask questions. Join the Young Scientist committee and expand your network. Feel free to get in touch and I’m happy to help where possible.

Jan-Willem Alffenaar
IATDMCT Past President

 
IATDMCT Member Spotlight from the
Biologics Committee

Featured Member:
Annick de Vries, PhD

Committee:
Biologics – Initiator of the committee and past chair

Affiliation / Position:
Owner/Principal @ Annick BioInsight Consulting

Years of IATDMCT Membership:
Member since 2016

Area of Expertise:
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) of Biologics, including assay development for drug concentration measurement and immunogenicity testing. Annick her team and colleagues at Sanquin developed concentration and immunogenicity assays for diagnostic services to supporting TDM. Notably, also in home-sampled capillary blood. Importantly, Annick played a key role in connecting clinical and academic partners to secure clinical validation data. Annick has a broad scientific and clinical network and has a strong drive of improving patient care. And used this to educate healthcare professionals.

Brief Biography:
As Chief Scientific Officer at Sanquin Diagnostic Services, Annick led laboratories focused on large-protein analysis and cellular assays supporting bioanalysis and diagnostic services worldwide. Sanquin’s diagnostic services for TDM of biologics are the most extensive global services available to support TDM of Biologics. Annick also instigated a bi-annual international symposium on TDM of Biologics which is endorsed by the IATDMCT. She ran educational events for healthcare professionals, for instance a masterclass “biologics” for physicians, pharmacists, and pharmacologists. Annick recently transitioned to running her own consulting company ‘Annick BioInsight Consulting’.

Current Focus or Projects:
Personalised medicine and dosing of biologics Advancing patient-centred approaches, including (home) sampling to help put the patient in the driver’s seat Advisor at the IHI-funded Project-COMFORT Development of diagnostics and diagnostic services of new biomarkers Bioanalysis, including immunogenicity (risk assessment) Preclinical toxicology including via cellular / whole blood testing Scientific advisory board member at Immuneed

Contribution to IATDMCT:
Annick has strongly supported IATDMCT’s mission, most notably as the initiator and chair of the Biologics Committee, and more recently as chair of the Europe Section. She has actively helped build platforms and shared practices for measuring biomarkers in small-volume samples, including approaches enabled by home-sampling. Annick also instigated the IATDMCT consensus guideline on infliximab, led by a great driver in the TDM of Biologics: Erwin Dreesen. And recently co-authored the IATDMCT advice ‘’To convert or not convert’’ on handling measurements in capillary blood (led by Laura Boffel).

In Their Own Words:
“To discover what a strong community the IATDMCT is and how these knowledge driven professionals have an impact on clinical practice was amazing. Eric Franssen was the biggest driver in this; cannot believe I had to travel to Brazil to meet someone from within the Amsterdam area. I also want to thank Dirk Jan Moes; we really started the TDM of Biologics committee together. I am truly happy that we could work with TDM experts and am convinced the TDM of Biologics will remain a focus within IATDMCT. This couldn’t have happened without stepping stones from European initiatives as there was MAGE (monoclonal antibody group Europe), led by Denis Mulleman. And I couldn’t have done what I did without the collaboration with Gertjan Wolbink and Theo Rispens at Sanquin. Thank you all!”

Learn More:
Visit the Biologics Committee page: https://iatdmct.org/all-committees/tdm-of-biologics/

Join us in maintaining the IATDMCT membership at a high level!

Please ensure you renew your membership for the 2026 year to retain your IATDMCT member benefits. Members who renew their membership for two years will receive a 10% discount on membership fees!

›› Click here to renew today

The Call for Nominations for the 2026 IATDMCT awards is open!

This year you are invited to nominate individuals for the following IATDMCT Awards:

• C.E. Pippenger Award, presented for outstanding contributions to Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
  • Online nomination form
• Victor Armstrong Young Investigator Award
  • Online nomination form

The Call for Nominations is open until April 30, 2026. The award presentation will take place at the Opening Ceremony of the 24th IATDMCT Congress in Rennes.

Nominations from members must be accompanied by curriculum vitae including a list of publications and a letter of support from the nominator containing an evaluation and appraisal of the nominee for the award. Additional letters of support from members of the Association or other respected scientists are welcomed as supporting information for the Selection Committee.

Submit your nominations using the online nomination forms.

Deadline: July 31, 2026

At the 2026 IATDMCT Congress in Rennes, the venue for the 2030 Congress will be chosen.

Members interested in submitting a proposal to host the Congress must submit an application by July 31, 2026. The purpose of this application is to provide guidance for candidates and to facilitate the task of selecting the final site, for the Site Selection Committee. You may choose to submit the information required on the application form in a different format, but all questions on the form should be addressed. Very often a tourism office, conference centre, or hotel in the region can help you gather the information.

For more information on the application process, please contact: Congress Site Selection Committee.

Click here to send your questions and/or request an application form

Join us in maintaining the IATDMCT membership! We look forward to inspiring many further colleagues who share with us the idea of an optimized and personalized drug treatment to join us in IATDMCT. Please ensure you renew your membership in order to retain your IATDMCT member benefits.

Our 2026 Member-Get-A Member Campaign now is up and running! Members are invited to inform their colleagues (who are not members yet) about the benefits of membership. Let’s build a strong partnership together!

Campaign Deadline: August 31, 2026

The top recruiter will gain a free registration for the IATDMCT Congress 2026 in Rennes.

Find the latest news and follow our IATDMCT institutional page on LinkedIn, X(Twitter) @IATDMCT or Instagram!

Adherence to medication is the very basic level we wish to reach in patient care. Yet for many patients taking drugs every day (sometimes several times a day, over long periods of time), this is far from straightforward. Treatment failure and adverse drug reactions can result not from the wrong medicine, but from inconsistent intake. Non-adherence is rarely intentional; it is a complex, multifaceted problem shaped by practical barriers, patient perceptions, and the realities of daily life. Therapeutic drug monitoring offers a powerful objective tool for fixing this hole - identifying who is and isn't taking their medication, enabling clinicians to have targeted, constructive conversations and intervene in ways that can make an effective difference. We are joined by Jorie Versmissen and Lene Halvorsen to discuss the topic.

Listen Now!

IATDMCT Congress 2026 – Rennes, France, September 27 – 30

Precision medicine: moving from legend to reality

The Rennes pharmacology team is delighted to welcome you to the joint congress of the International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology (IATDMCT) and the French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (SFPT). These two eminent learning societies are joining forces for the first time in France to foster knowledge in precision medicine and promote research on drugs.

During four days, Rennes will be the capital of pharmacology, therapeutics, and clinical toxicology. In the heart of the city, the Couvent des Jacobins. Formerly a religious site, then a educational place and finally a military centre, it now plays a central role in the sharing of culture and knowledge. While retaining its historical roots, this site is now firmly focused on the future!

It is in keeping with this spirit that we will meet next September. Bringing together pharmacologists, toxicologists and clinicians with their expertise in medical drugs, we will turn the attractive promise of precision medicine into a clinical reality.

We are very excited to share all this knowledge and look forward to seeing many of you in Rennes!

Please, disseminate the unique scientific event within your professional and scientific networks!

TRAVEL GRANTS

A limited number of International Travel Grants are available to help offset travel expenses to attend the IATDMCT Congress. Click here for full details and to submit an application.

Please ensure to submit all required documents as outlined on the application form – incomplete applications will not be eligible.

Travel Grant Application Deadline:
June 30

Pharmacometrics, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning in Precision Dosing and Clinical Toxicology

Call for Papers

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) invites submissions for a Special Issue focused on the integration of pharmacometrics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) to advance precision dosing, therapeutic drug monitoring, and clinical toxicology. This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research, innovative methodologies, and clinically impactful applications that enhance individualized pharmacotherapy and decision-making through quantitative and computational approaches.

Aims & Scope

This Special Issue seeks high-quality contributions that explore the intersection of:

• Pharmacometrics: Population PK/PD modelling, PBPK, QSP, disease modeling, Bayesian forecasting, model-informed precision dosing.
• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning: Predictive modelling, deep learning methods, digital twins, reinforcement learning for dose optimization.
• Precision Dosing, TDM, & Clinical Toxicology: Data-driven dose adjustment, TDM-guided strategies, toxicity prediction models, integration of real-world data, and safety signal detection.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Model-based strategies to optimize dosing across diverse populations
• AI/ML algorithms for dose prediction and toxicity risk assessment in clinical practice
• Integration of therapeutic drug monitoring with machine learning-guided clinical decision support
• Predictive models addressing rare adverse events and out-of-range drug exposures
• Computational tools for real-time feedback on dose adjustments and toxicity mitigation
• Comparative evaluations of statistical/pharmacometric approaches vs AI/ML predictive methods
• Clinical case studies demonstrating meaningful impact on patient outcomes

Submissions that emphasize clinical translation, methodological innovation, reproducible workflows, and the potential to influence clinical practice are particularly encouraged.

We welcome submissions of Review Articles, Opinion Papers, Original Articles, Short Communications, Grand Rounds/Case Studies, and Letters to the Editor.

Please indicate in your cover letter that your manuscript is submitted in response to this Call for Papers.

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript for the Special Issue, please contact TDM@ucdenver.edu in advance to consult about the appropriateness of your proposal. The submission deadline for this Special Issue is June 30, 2026.

Stay ahead with the latest scientific research developments in the fields of TDM and CT!

The monthly Therapeutic Drug Monitoring column provides you with the latest posts of ahead-of-print. Bringing to you articles posted online February 9 – February 23, 2026:

ORIGINAL ARTICLES:

• Impact of Abiraterone Therapeutic Drug Monitoring on Cortisol as a Surrogate Biomarker of CYP17 Inhibition in Metastatic Prostate Cancer Treatment
  van Merendonk, Lisanne N.; van der Kleij, Maud B. A.; Bergman, André M.; van Rossum, Huub H.; Steeghs, Neeltje; Huitema, Alwin D. R.
  February 13, 2026
• Development and Validation of a UHPLC-MS/MS Method to Identify Interference from Qiliqiangxin Capsule and Deslanoside in Digoxin Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: A Comparison with Immunoassay
  Wang, Peile; Wang, Zhan; Chen, Guang; Yang, Jing
  February 9, 2026

REVIEW ARTICLE:

• Urine Drug Testing: Service Models and Laboratory Practices to Meet Clinical Care Needs
  Stefan, Cristiana; Jung, Benjamin; Zhou, Janet; Franssen, Eric J. F.; Langman, Loralie J.; Fu, Lei
  February 23, 2026

CASE REPORT:

• Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Guanfacine for Sedation in a Patient on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Continuous Venovenous Hemofiltration: Grand Round/A Case Study
  Carroll, David K.; King, Andrew; Yakey, Brandtly; Darling, Aria; Carroll, Simon N.; Isaacson, Andrew R.
  February 6, 2026

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

• Analytical Performance Specifications for Immunosuppressive Drug Measurements
  Panteghini, Mauro
  February 9, 2026

››Submit your high-quality research – Information for authors.

Are you aware of additional events of potential interest for the IATDMCT society? Share this information with your IATDMCT colleagues by posting it on our Events Calendar.

» Click here to Post an Event on our Online Events Calendar today!

Visit the IATDMCT Events Calendar and stay informed about the upcoming TDM and CT Meetings. By doing this you can comfortably and directly reach all related online resources.

TDM Education India – April 1 at 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM (India time / UTC +05.30)

SAVE THE DATE!

IATDMCT Africa and East Mediterranean Region Webinar
Tuesday, April 14 at 10:00 - 11:00 UTC

TDM in Biologics in Paediatric IBD

PROGRAM INCLUDES

• Dr. Christos Tzivinikos, Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital, Dubai Health, UAE
• Dr. Hesham Obeidat, Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital, Dubai Health, UAE

Register now!

REGISTER NOW!

IATDMCT 2026
"Precision medicine : moving from legend to reality"
September 27-30, 2026, Rennes, France

https://www.iatdmct-sfpt2026.org/

Advisor: Manuela Neuman
Co-editor: Ryuji Kato
Co-editor: Yoko Urashima

NOTE: Items appearing in the IATDMCT monthly E-News do not necessarily have the endorsement of the Association.