Onno van Nieuwenhuizen

Sadly, Prof. Dr. Onno van Nieuwenhuizen passed away on Monday, 1 November 2021.

Onno was one of the most colorful pediatric neurologists in the Netherlands. He laid the foundation for the current clinical and scientific areas of expertise of the UMC Utrecht department of child neurology. He was the founder of pediatric epilepsy surgery in the Netherlands and an icon in pediatric epileptology. Many will know of him as a charming and charismatic colleague, a gifted speaker, and an inspiring doctor, researcher and teacher. He had an incredibly good sense of humor.

Onno started his career as a pediatric neurologist in Utrecht in 1979. He led the department of child neurology in the UMCU from 1999 to 2011. From 1997 to 1999, he was professor of pediatric epilepsy surgery, then professor of pediatric neurology. In 2000, he founded the Sylvia Toth Center, a care concept that was unique at the time with a one-day multidisciplinary diagnostic program for children with a complex neurological disorder. He was chairman of the Dutch Association for Pediatric Neurology for seven years and was awarded as honorary member in 2009. As a co-founder, he chaired the European Taskforce for Epilepsy Surgery in Children (“U-TASK”) for 13 years. He supervised 15 Ph. D. students and wrote several book chapters and many international publications. Onno retired on 15 June 2011. During his very well-attended farewell lecture in the Dom Church, he was awarded the royal decoration of Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. 

We will miss him profoundly.