Improve care
From day one of his career as a pediatric oncologist in 1987, Pieters has been working nationally and internationally to improve the care for children with cancer and thus heal more children. Especially in the field of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) he is an international top expert who has contributed to many adaptations and improvements of international treatment protocols. He chairs different (international) committees that judge treatment protocols for this form of leukemia. Pieters has been researching ALL for thirty years, has published more than 600 peer-reviewed scientific articles, has been on the editorial board of numerous medical scientific journals and has supervised an extraordinary list of PhD students.
Inspiring supercharger
From his administrative positions, Mr. Pieters is an inspiring driver of medical-scientific improvements in pediatric oncology, for example in his role as chairman of the scientific council of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) and in the Supervisory Board of Stichting Kinderoncologie Nederland (SKION).
Children cancer free
In 2002 he co-founded the founding of the foundation Children's Cancer Free (KiKa). He wanted more funds available to be able to do specific research in the Netherlands on better treatment and cure for childhood cancer. His active involvement has provided broad support for KiKa and the need for structural scientific childhood cancer research. With his charm and persuasiveness he managed to mobilize many people for the foundation of the new foundation. KiKa became a great success.
Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology
Rob Pieters is the initiator of the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology. In order to ensure that every child in the Netherlands receives the best treatment, he took the initiative at the time to bundle all care and research for children with cancer in one organization. This resulted in the Princess Máxima Center with the mission: cure every child with cancer, with optimal quality of life. Since 2014, Pieters is director and ultimately responsible for healthcare at the Princess Máxima Center. He does this with a very large involvement with the children and their immediate environment.
Since the spring of 2018, all complex care, scientific research and pediatric oncology courses have been provided from the Princess Máxima Center. This makes it a very important center in Europe. It is thanks to the initiative and the many years of unbridled and passionate dedication of Mr. Pieters as a pediatric oncologist and director that this center has been established. Since 2016, Mr. Pieters has been managing his position at the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology with his activities as professor of pediatric oncology at Utrecht University.
Very exceptional achievement
Mayor Freek Ossel: "Thanks to his unbridled dedication, urge for action, top expertise and inspiring and engaging personality, Mr. Pieters himself has realized many improvements, but also inspires many others to motivate and motivate themselves - globally - to care for children with cancer. He has turned his positive impatience to heal children into an impressive drive to mobilize an unprecedented amount of people and resources to achieve that goal faster. A very exceptional achievement that we are very proud of. "
(source: press release municipality of Wijdemeren)