Robina Aerts

Robina Aerts is a resident in respiratory medicine affiliated with the University of Antwerp and currently performing a PhD on opportunistic infections at the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation of the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Leuven, Belgium. She is a medical doctor now but also has a background in chemistry. She is combining clinical work with clinical and translational research. Her area of interest is improving screening and diagnostic strategies of invasive mould and parasitic infections in high-risk haematology patients, to also implement this in other less typical risk groups. She is performing clinical research on the implementation of new diagnostic tools for invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis, with focus on lateral flow tests and PCR. She is a young ESCMID and ISHAM member and a member of the Trainee Association of BVIKM-SBIMC (Trainee Association for young physicians in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Belgium) and the BSHAM (Belgian Society of Human and Animal Mycology). She participates in research projects of the ECMM to translate research from bench to clinic. She is also a member of the ECIL-9 (9^th European Conference on Infections in Leukaemia working group) in which she also helped in elaborating new guidelines. In her spare time she is a swimming instructor and trumpet player. She participates as a volunteer in local initiatives and she loves reading in different languages.