I started my career as a nurse in oncology, where I first experienced the complexity and urgency of cancer care. This led me to become a research nurse, where I became more involved in clinical studies and developed a strong interest in data and evidence generation. Over time, my curiosity about how data can improve patient outcomes guided me toward my current role as a clinical data specialist. Today, I focus on ensuring high-quality clinical data and supporting real-world evidence and precision oncology through reliable and meaningful data insights.

My professional background is in nursing and healthcare leadership. I hold a Bachelor of Nursing and completed a Master’s degree in Leadership in Healthcare at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. In addition, I have completed Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and eBROK training, strengthening my foundation in ethical and high-quality clinical research. My education and training are complemented by practical experience in oncology nursing, research nursing, and clinical data management, with a strong focus on clinical trials, data integrity, and oncology research.

In my current role as a clinical data specialist in oncology, I focus on ensuring the quality, consistency, and integrity of clinical data across the hospital. I work with a wide range of healthcare data, supporting the secondary use of data for research, quality improvement, and innovation. I collaborate with clinicians, researchers, and data teams to structure, validate, and optimize data use while safeguarding data privacy and compliance. My work contributes to real-world evidence generation, precision oncology, and data-driven healthcare innovation within the hospital setting.

I aim to further strengthen my expertise in clinical data science within the hospital setting, with a focus on secondary use of health data for research, quality improvement, and innovation. I want to contribute more to building robust, privacy-aware data infrastructures. I am also interested in gaining experience abroad to broaden my perspective, learn from different healthcare systems, and strengthen international collaboration. Ultimately, I hope to help improve patient outcomes by enabling better use of high-quality healthcare data across systems.

My advice for nurses interested in this field is to build on your clinical experience and stay curious about how data supports patient care. Your understanding of the patient journey is a strong foundation. Start developing skills in clinical data, research methods, and data governance, and learn how healthcare data is structured and used. Experience in research or quality improvement projects can be very helpful. Don’t be afraid to move beyond the bedside, nurses bring a valuable perspective to data and digital health. Keep learning, ask questions, and connect clinical practice with data-driven thinking.

One thing people might not guess about my work is how much time is spent not just on data, but on understanding clinical context. Behind every dataset are complex workflows, documentation habits, and real patient journeys. A large part of my role is translating clinical practice into structured, usable data while balancing accuracy, privacy, and usability. It often feels like solving small puzzles that connect healthcare, research, and data science in a very practical way.