Jelle Barentsz - Biography
Professor Jelle Barentsz is a world-renowned radiologist who has made groundbreaking contributions to prostate cancer imaging and diagnosis. He earned his MD in 1980 and completed his PhD in 1990, focusing on MRI of urinary bladder cancer. Since 1998, he has been a Professor of Radiology at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and retired from academia in 2023. Now working at the Andros Clinics, to combine non-academic and academic patient care.
Professor Barentsz' work has significantly improved prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. By his innovations and work, over 1,000,000 men are yearly saved from unnecessary invasive biopsy and reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment rates by 50%.
Key achievements and contributions
- Pioneered the use of MRI technology for non-neurological diseases, particularly in urogenital imaging
- Introduced PI-RADS (Prostate Imaging - Reporting and Data System) in 2012, which became the global standard for prostate MRI
- Led research that resulted in changes to European and Dutch prostate cancer guidelines, recommending prostate MRI before biopsy
- Revived the use of ferumoxtran-10 MRI (nano MRI) for detecting small lymph node metastases
- Established the Prostate MR Reference-Expert Center (PMRC)
- Published 352 papers with a h-index of 84 and 30,913 citations (Scopus Sept 2024)
- Serves as imaging editor for the European Urology journal
- Mentored over 40 PhD candidates.
Current research focus:
1. Implementing AI-assisted prostate cancer screening using PSA and MRI
2. Expanding the use of nano-MRI for detecting lymph node metastases and other applications
3. Developing international education programs for radiologists and urologists
4. Developing a nano-bio-battery that can selectively kill cancer cells.
Awards and recognition:
- Received the EAU Innovators in Urology Award, becoming the first non-urologist to win this prestigious honour*
- Awarded the royal decoration of Knight in the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands
- Honorary member of the Japanese Radiological Society and Polish Medical Radiological Society
- Recipient of the Dutch Radiology Wertheim-Salomonson Medal and SAR Lifetime Achievement Award.
Known for his persistence and innovative thinking, Professor Barentsz has overcome skepticism to revolutionize prostate cancer imaging. He remains active in research, education, and patient advocacy, leveraging social media to share knowledge and inspire the next generation of radiologists.He is giving interactive prostate-MRI workshops all over the world.
After retiring from academia in 2022, Professor Barentsz now leads the Division of Medical Imaging at Andros Clinics, and the Prostate MRI Reference Center, continuing his mission to improve prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment worldwide.
CV download:
https://mri-prostate-barentsz.nl/
Footnote*:
- He received this Award, for his groundbreaking achievements in functional and molecular imaging related to prostate cancer MRI. Specifically:
1. He and his team were responsible for developing and introducing the Prostate Imaging - Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS), which has become the global standard for prostate MRI.
2. PI-RADS has been incorporated into clinical guidelines worldwide, including the EAU Guidelines.
3. His work has led to significant improvements in prostate cancer detection and diagnosis:
• It has enabled a 50% reduction in unnecessary biopsies, this is a global reduction of 1,000,000 biopsies annually.
• It allows for more targeted and accurate biopsies when abnormalities are detected on MRI.
4. Barentsz' innovations have had a major impact on patient care, decreasing side effects and increasing chances of cure through improved imaging techniques.
5. As the first non-urologist to receive this award, it represents a significant recognition of the importance of imaging in urology from the clinical community.
The EAU Innovators in Urology Award is presented "in recognition of the importance of inventions and clinical contributions with a major impact on the treatment and/or diagnosis of a urological disease". Barentsz's work in standardizing and advancing prostate MRI clearly meets these criteria, revolutionizing how prostate cancer is detected and diagnosed worldwide.
