Lilly is a paediatrician – subspecialist infectious diseases & immunology – and clinician scientist. Her translational research on host-pathogen interactions in global paediatric risk groups for respiratory tract infections was the cornerstone of her cum laude research doctorate in 2014. Since the completion of her PhD, her research scope has specifically focused on the mucosal immune system of the respiratory tract. Several personal grants enabled her to combine her paediatric residency (2014 – 2020) with postdoctoral research projects. Additional funding led to the initiation of multiple translational studies in The Netherlands and abroad to decipher host mucosal immunological factors defining susceptibility to RTIs in vulnerable children. Parallel to her clinical and research training, she completed a MSc in Clinical Epidemiology in 2019.
Lilly is a current board member of both the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) and the World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (WSPID). Over the past 15 years, she has combined patient care with translational research in global paediatric risk groups experiencing high rates of respiratory infections in both urban and rural areas of Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. Currently, her primary appointment is at the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, dividing her time between clinical patient care as a physician at the Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases & Immunology and translational research as an Assistant Professor and group leader at the Laboratory of Medical Immunology. She has additional appointments at Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa, and St. Maarten Medical Center, St. Maarten, The Caribbean. Both South Africa and the Caribbean are characterized by a multi-ethnic population and a high prevalence of respiratory tract infections. A shared interest in host factors driving local epidemiology and immunology of respiratory infections and the learning opportunities for individuals that arise from these collaborations have fuelled joined publications, grants, and (PhD) student positions. Lilly strives to combat respiratory infections in children worldwide by increasing our understanding of the respiratory mucosal immune system to ultimately design mucosal interventions.