Organising committee
Organising Committee
The main Organising Committee consists of:
Dr. Rob Wüst – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Dr. Merel Hellemons – Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Prof. Resia Pretorius – Stellenbosch University, South-Africa
Prof Mark Faghy – Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Dr Rob Wüst is an associate professor at the Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His research group studies skeletal and cardiac muscle metabolism and function. His interest includes skeletal muscle adaptations after bed rest, in collaboration with astronauts from ESA and NASA and after acute and chronic inflammation. Recent work focuses on skeletal muscle abnormalities and exercise responses in patients with Long COVID and ME/CFS. The research is funded by ZonMw, and various European and American (patient) organizations for diabetes, Long COVID and ME/CFS.
Professor Mark Faghy is a leading researcher in Clinical Exercise Physiology, specialising in the pathophysiology of long‑term conditions and rehabilitation. His work focuses on the mechanisms and impact of Long COVID, integrating scientific investigation with patient‑reported experience to drive meaningful solutions. He leads an international research team and has delivered pioneering studies throughout the pandemic, including the UK’s first clinical trial on antiviral treatments for Long COVID. Alongside his research, he is an active advocate for patients, shaping policy discussions, raising awareness, and improving care pathways for people living with chronic illness.
Dr Merel Hellemons is a pulmonologist at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, specialized in multidisciplinary complex care with a particular focus on long-COVID. She founded and coordinated the post-COVID outpatient clinic at Erasmus MC and serves as principal investigator of multiple research studies on long-COVID, en collaborates in a national research consortium on long-COVID. Since the onset of the pandemic, she has been actively involved in establishing national post-COVID expertise centers and developing clinical care pathways for long-COVID. She also contributes to national guideline development and helps shape the long-COVID research agenda.
Professor Resia Pretorius is a Professor at Stellenbosch University, Honorary Professor at the University of Liverpool, and currently serves as Vice-Dean for Research and Postgraduate Students in the Faculty of Science at Stellenbosch University. Her research focuses on coagulation biology, systemic inflammation, and post-viral disease. She is best known for discovering fibrinaloid microclot complexes and their role in Long COVID and other inflammatory conditions. Her work has led to multiple patents, as well as the commercialisation of diagnostic technologies through the university spin-out Biocode. She has served on several panels including the WHO and the WHN.