Professor van Zandwijk (Figure 1) obtained his medical degree from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1973, and subsequently received licenses in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine in 1979 and 1981, respectively. In 1976, he completed his PhD. In 1981, he was assistant professor at the Academic Medical Centre, and consultant physician at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam. From 1985 to 2008, he served as head of the Department of Thoracic Oncology at the NKI.
