PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jeroen van der Laak

Also known as Jeroen A. W. M. van der Laak

Jeroen van der Laak is a computer scientist who builds artificial intelligence for reading digitized tissue sections in pathology. After studying computer science at Radboud University, he began working in the pathology department of Radboud University Medical Center in 1991, earned a doctorate in 2001 and started his own AI research group in 2015. He coordinated the CAMELYON challenges in 2016 and 2017, where the best deep-learning algorithms outperformed eleven pathologists at finding breast cancer metastases in lymph nodes. In 2021 he founded the spin-off Aiosyn, Radboudumc appointed him professor of computational pathology in 2022, and in 2024 he shared the Ammodo Science Award with Geert Litjens and Francesco Ciompi. He is a professor of computational pathology at Radboudumc, Chief Scientific Officer of Aiosyn and guest professor at the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization in Linköping, Sweden.

Now at
Radboud University Medical Center, Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, Aiosyn and European Society of Pathology
Badges

Timeline

  1. 1991–2001

    Radboudumc pathology and a doctorate

    After studying Computer Science at Radboud University in Nijmegen, he works from 1991 at the Department of Pathology of Radboud University Medical Center. In 2001, he receives his doctorate for a thesis titled 'Automated identification of cell and tissue components in pathology'.

  2. 2015

    A pathology AI research group

    In 2015, he starts his own research group on artificial intelligence in pathology at Radboudumc. The group applies AI to tumour detection and grading in breast, prostate and colon cancer, to lymph node metastases and to biopsies from transplanted kidneys.

  3. 2016–2017

    Coordinating the CAMELYON challenges

    He coordinates the CAMELYON grand challenges in 2016 and 2017. In CAMELYON16, 23 research groups build algorithms that find breast cancer metastases in lymph nodes, and the top algorithms outperform eleven pathologists working in a realistic hospital setting. A JAMA paper reports the results in December 2017.

  4. 2018–2020

    Linköping post and three honours

    From 2018, he is a visiting professor at the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization in Linköping, Sweden. He receives the Radboud Science Awards in 2018, gives the USCAP Nathan Kaufman Lecture in March 2019 and wins the Dutch Novartis Transplantation Award in 2020.

  5. 2021

    Aiosyn and the Bigpicture project

    In 2021, he founds Aiosyn, a Radboudumc spin-off where he is Chief Scientific Officer. By May 2021, he also coordinates Bigpicture, a European project of almost 70 million euros that Radboudumc initiated to build the world's largest database of pathology data.

  6. 2022

    Professor of Computational Pathology

    In February 2022, he becomes Professor of Computational Pathology at Radboudumc and Radboud University. He develops AI for the analysis of digitized tissue sections.

  7. March 2024

    The Ammodo Science Award

    In March 2024, he and his colleagues Geert Litjens and Francesco Ciompi of the Computational Pathology Group receive the Ammodo Science Award 2024. The award comes with 1.6 million euros, and the group sets out to build a virtual pathologist named ANTONI that can explain the reasoning behind an AI model.

  8. As of October 2026

    Radboudumc, Aiosyn and Linköping

    He is Professor of Computational Pathology at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Aiosyn, and guest professor at the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization in Linköping, Sweden. He also leads the European Society of Pathology's 'AI in Pathology' taskforce and is overall coordinator of the Bigpicture project.

Career

  1. Since 2021AiosynCo-founder, Chief Scientific Officer
  2. Since 2018Center for Medical Image Science and VisualizationVisiting Professor
  3. Since 1991Radboud University Medical CenterProfessor of Computational Pathology
  4. NowEuropean Society of PathologyLead of the AI in Pathology taskforce
  5. From 2022Radboud University NijmegenProfessor of Computational Pathology

Education

  1. Radboud University Nijmegen

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Radboud University Nijmegen. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Radboud University Nijmegen. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Radboud University Nijmegen. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  4. 5 of the 25 people with the most-cited recent papers also lead on career citationsIncludes Linköping University. We compare citations to 2023–2025 papers with career citations and h-index, after correcting reviewed publication-date errors: who leads, when they started and where they work.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Computational Pathology Group | Ammodo Science Award 2024 ammodo-science-award.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Jeroen van der Laak appointed professor of Computational Pathology - Radboudumc radboudumc.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Computer identifies cancer in tissue images - Artificial intelligence assists cancer diagnostics - Radboudumc radboudumc.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Jeroen van der Laak · Aiosyn aiosyn.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Prof. dr. Jeroen van der Laak - Radboudumc radboudumc.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Launch of giant pathology database is in the Dutch city of Nijmegen - IO+ Archive ioplus.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Ammodo Science Award for AI researchers at Radboud university medical center - AI turns computers into virtual pathologists - Radboudumc radboudumc.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.