Jakko van Ingen appointed Professor of Diagnostics and antimicrobial therapy of mycobacterial infections

Clinical microbiologist Jakko van Ingen has been appointed Professor of Diagnostics and antimicrobial therapy of mycobacterial infections at Radboud university medical center / Radboud University. His goal is to treat patients with a mycobacterial infection earlier, shorter and with a higher chance of cure, by using new and existing antibiotics more effectively.

Mycobacteria form a large and diverse family of bacteria. The most well-known cause tuberculosis and leprosy. In addition, there are about two hundred so-called non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), which can also cause serious disease. These diseases are often difficult to treat and require prolonged therapies with combinations of antibiotics.

For tuberculosis, treatment duration has in recent years been reduced to six months, with ninety percent of patients being cured. ‘For NTM disease, we are still really at the beginning of this process’, says Van Ingen. Currently, treatment lasts six to usually eighteen months, and only sixty percent of patients are cured.

Smart use of antibiotics

To improve these outcomes, Van Ingen studies both new and existing antibiotics. ‘For many existing drugs, we already know how they work in the body. This allows us to quickly and cost-effectively investigate whether they are also effective against NTM infections’, he explains. A good example is clofazimine. This antibiotic was originally developed to treat leprosy, an infectious disease that is now rarely seen in the Netherlands. Van Ingen demonstrated that this drug is also effective against certain NTM infections.

Replacing animal testing with fibers

In addition to effectiveness, Van Ingen places great importance on responsible research. ‘I find it important that we develop new antibiotics as much as possible without animal testing’, he says. For this purpose, he uses the hollow fiber model: a laboratory model designed to mimic the human body. Artificial fibers simulate blood flow to an artificial lung, in which immune cells are deliberately infected with NTM. Using precisely controlled pumps, researchers administer exact amounts of antibiotics to determine the optimal dosages and combinations.

Expertise in care and collaboration

Van Ingen also plays a leading role in clinical practice. He developed the tuberculosis laboratory at Radboudumc into an internationally recognized center. It excelled in drug-resistance testing and genome sequencing and is now the Netherlands’ expert lab for diagnosing NTM infections. ‘Our national expert lab focuses on all forms of mycobacterial infections and supports hospitals at home and abroad with diagnostics and advice’, he explains. In addition, Van Ingen is one of the driving forces behind national weekly multidisciplinary concilium in which various healthcare specialists jointly discuss patients and treatment strategies. Finally, he also contributes his expertise to international guidelines.

Career

Jakko van Ingen studied medicine at Radboud University. During a research internship, he explored the then largely undiscovered field of NTM. In 2009, he obtained his PhD on this topic with his dissertation Nontuberculous mycobacteria: from gene sequences to clinical relevance.

During his career, he gained international experience, including in tuberculosis care in Tanzania and as a postdoctoral researcher at National Jewish Health in Denver. After completing his PhD, Van Ingen held several positions at Radboudumc. He became a clinical microbiologist and later head of the reference laboratory for mycobacteriology. His appointment as professor–leader in academic healthcare will take effect on July 1st 2026 for a period of five years.

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