Dirkje "Sjoukje" Postma (born 1951 in Nij Beets,

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

) is a Dutch

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

and the

University Medical Center Groningen The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG, ), formerly Groningen University Hospital, is the main hospital in Groningen, Netherlands. The medical centre is affiliated with the University of Groningen and offers supraregional tertiary care to ...

. She focused her research career on

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

and

COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...

. Postma is a member of the

Health Council of the Netherlands The Health Council of the Netherlands or the Dutch Health Council () is an independent Dutch scientific advisory body with the task of advising the government and parliament about matters in the areas of public health and medical research. Histo ...

Career

Postma graduated with a degree in medicine in 1978. She specialised in

pulmonology Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek suffix "study of"), pneumology (, built on Greek πνεύμων "lung") or pneumonology () is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract. ...

. In 1984 she obtained her PhD-degree with a thesis entitled ''Reversibility of chronic airflow obstruction''. After graduation, she worked for the ''Longfonds'' (then called Astmafonds), a Dutch health organisation. On behalf of this organisation, she became

endowed professor A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are ...

at the

. In 1998 she got appointed as full professor Pathophysiology of the respiration at this university. On 1 April 2016 Postma retired. Postma's research focusses on asthma and COPD. She co-authored over 600 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as'' New England Journal of Medicine'' and ''the Lancet''. Because of her research,

steroid A steroid is an organic compound with four fused compound, fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes t ...

s are nowadays used to mitigate the symptoms of asthma. Her research has been beneficial to millions of people suffering from respiratory illnesses. One of the results of her research is that asthma and COPD can be distinguished from each other. Postma and co-workers found out that genetic variants occurring in people suffering from allergies also occur in people suffering from asthma and those with a higher risk of

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

s. These links between these conditions have led to new insights in how to treat those conditions.

Recognition

In 1995, Postma received the Aletta Jacobs Medal. Five years later, she received the

Spinoza Prize The Spinoza Prize () is an annual award of 1.5 million euro prize money, to be spent on new research given by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The award is the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. It is named after the philosopher Baruc ...

, the highest academic honour in the Netherlands. In the same year she (as second woman in the Netherlands) joined the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

. In May 2015 she received the prestigious

Trudeau Medal Trudeau is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Trudeau family, a notable Canadian family known in politics, business and film, including: **Charles-Émile Trudeau (1887–1935), Canadian businessman and father of Pierre Trudeau * ...

from the

American Lung Association The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. History 1904–1918: Founding The organization was ...

. She was the first non-American recipient of this honour. In 2007, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded her as Akademiehoogleraar and two years later she received the ''presidential award'' of the

European Respiratory Society The European Respiratory Society, or ERS, is a non-profit organization with offices in Lausanne, Brussels and Sheffield. It was founded in 1990 in the field of respiratory medicine. The organization was formed with the merger of the Societas Eur ...

. Postma holds

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

and

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

. In her name, the Dutch Longfonds has set up a scholarship for young talents, the ''Dirkje Postma Talent Award''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postma, Dirkje Living people 1951 births Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Spinoza Prize winners Academic staff of the University of Groningen Dutch physicians Pulmonologists