Prof. Dr. Ilse De Coster

Prof. Dr. Ilse De Coster is heading the Ambulatory Trial Unit at Vaccinopolis. She obtained her MD in 1993 and worked for several years as a general practitioner before specializing in public health and tropical medicine at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp.

In 2010 she joined the CEV where she has since acted as principal and co-investigator on many vaccine trials—both investigator driven and industry sponsored and participated in coordination of vaccine trials under European Union projects. In 2023, she earned her PhD for work on new polio vaccine trials, in which the University of Antwerp’s Centre for Evaluation of Vaccination played a crucial role.

She is associate professor at the University of Antwerp and teaches infectious diseases and vaccinology. Since 2024 she became chair of the National Certification Committee for the Eradication of Poliomyelitis and co-chair of the Antwerp Pediatric Clinical Trial Network with a focus on vaccine trials.