Evert Verhagen
Senior Medical & Anti-Doping Research Expert UEFA | Professor of Sports & Health Amsterdam UMC | Co-chair ACHSS IOC Research Center | EiC BMJOpenSEM
Nyon, Switzerland
Evert Verhagen
Professor of Sports & Health Amsterdam UMC | Co-chair ACHSS IOC Research Center | Medical Research Advisor UEFA | EiC BMJOpenSEM
Nyon, Switzerland
Bio
As a full professor at the Amsterdam UMC and the Amsterdam Movement Science Research Institute, I have dedicated my career to the prevention of sports and physical activity-related injuries. My passion extends beyond academia. As the Editor in Chief of BMJ Open Sports & Exercise Medicine, I shape the dialogue in the realm of sports research. I also proudly co-chair the Amsterdam Collaboration on Health and Safety in Sports and serve as a Medical Research Advisor for the Union of European Football Associations. These roles allow me to drive excellence and foster innovation in the pursuit of optimal health and safety for athletes.
Specialist Areas
Sports Medicine
Epidemiology
Injury Prevention
eHealth
Leadership
Bio
As a Senior Medical & Anti-Doping Research Expert for the Union of European Football Associations, and a full professor at the Amsterdam UMC, I have dedicated my career to preventing sports and physical activity-related injuries. My passion extends beyond academia. As the editor-in-chief of BMJ Open Sports & Exercise Medicine, I shape the dialogue in sports research. I also proudly co-chair the Amsterdam Collaboration on Health and Safety in Sports. These roles allow me to drive excellence and foster innovation in pursuing optimal health and safety for athletes.
Specialist Areas
Sports Medicine
Epidemiology
Injury Prevention
eHealth
Leadership
Employment History
Senior Medical & Anti-Doping Research Expert – Union of European Football Associations, Nyon
2025-present
Professor – Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam
2018-Present
Medical Research Advisor – Union of European Football Associations, Nyon
2023-2025
Consulting Research Director, Performance Medicine – Cirque du Soleil, Montreal
2016-2019
Co-director – Amsterdam Institute of Sport Science, Amsterdam
2016-2023
Assistant Professor – EMGO + institute / VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam
2006-2010
Education
Oxford University, UK
Advanced Qualitative Research Methods
2019
Said Business School, Oxford University, UK
High Performance Leadership
2019
VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
MSc Epidemiology
2000 – 2005
VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
phD, Faculty of Medicine
2000-2004
VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
MSc Humman Movement Sciences
1994 – 1999
St. Pauluslyceum, Tilburg, the Netherlands
Pre-university education
1988 – 1994
Publications
418
indexed publications
46
publications as first author
112
publications as last author
84
H index
Isabel Moore, Kay M Crossley, Kari Bo, Margo Mountjoy, Kathryn Ackerman, Juliana da Silva Antero, Jorunn Sundgot Borgen, Wendy Brown, Caroline Bolling, Benjamin Clarsen, Wayne Derman, Paul Dijkstra, Amber Donaldson, Kirsty Elliott-Sale, Carolyn Emery, Lene Haakstad, Astrid Junge, Nonhlanhla Mkumbuzi, Sophia Nimphius, Debbie Palmer, Mireille van Poppel, Jane Thornton, Rita Tomás, Phathokuhle Zondi, Evert Verhagen. Female athlete health domains: a supplement to the International Olympic Committee consensus statement on methods for recording and reporting epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport. Br J Sports Med, 2023.
Evert Verhagen, Allard van der Beek, Jos Twisk, Lex Bouter, Roald Bahr, Willem van Mechelen. The effect of a proprioceptive balance board training program for the prevention of ankle sprains: a prospective controlled trial. Am J Sports Med, 2004. 32(6): p. 1385-93.
Caroline Bolling, Willem van Mechelen, Roeline Pasman, Evert Verhagen. Context Matters: Revisiting the First Step of the ‘Sequence of Prevention’ of Sports Injuries. Sports Med, 2018. 48(10): p. 2227-2234.
Evert Verhagen, Kasim Bay. Optimising ankle sprain prevention: a critical review and practical appraisal of the literature. Br J Sports Med, 2010. 44(15): p. 1082-8.
Ingrid Vriend, Vincent Gouttebarge, Caroline Finch, Willem van Mechelen, Evert Verhagen. Intervention Strategies Used in Sport Injury Prevention Studies: A Systematic Review Identifying Studies Applying the Haddon Matrix. Sports Med, 2017. 47(10): p. 2027-2043.
Honours & Awards
Recognition as an IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health
2015, 2019 & 2023
Fellow of Sports Medicine Australia
2019
Recognition as High Performance Partner by the Dutch National Olympic Committee
2019
University Research Chair, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2018
ZonMw Pearl, The Netherlands Organisation for Health Researchand Development: ‘Versterk je enkel’ project
2016
Societal Impact Award, EMGO Institute
2012
Fellow of the European College of Sports Sciences
2010
Asics poster prize ‘Injury Prevention’. ACSMS 2010 3- 6 November 2010, Port Douglas, Australia. Title: The impact of compliance on sports injury prevention effect estimates in randomized controlled trials.
2010
2nd place, teacher of the year awards. Faculty of Medicine of the VU University medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
2009
3rd place, teacher of the year awards. Faculty of Medicine of the VU University medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
2008, 2007
Van Walree’ travel grant. Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)
2004
On the Road
You will find me attending and presenting at these upcoming events.
Isokinetic, Madrid, Spain
3-5 May 2025
5th ReFORM Symposium, Paris, France
13 June 2025
World Congress on Science and Soccer, Glasgow, Scotland
17-21 June 2025
ASICS SMA Conference, Hobart, Australia
29 October – 1 November 2025
OSTRC 25, Lofoten, Norway
13-15 May 2025
SUFT Congress, Helsinki, Finland
6-7 June 2025
AFC Medical Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
21-25 July 2025
