Speakers Details

Michel E. van Genderen, MD, PhD is an internist-intensivist and associate professor at the Erasmus Medical Center (Erasmus MC) in Rotterdam—the largest university hospital in the Netherlands, employing over 18,000 staff and hosting the country’s largest intensive care unit.

Since joining the medical staff in 2021, Van Genderen has played a leading role in bridging clinical care with technological innovation. He co-founded the Erasmus MC Datahub, which facilitates the development and implementation of AI solutions at the bedside, and established the Responsible and Ethical AI in Healthcare Lab (REAiHL) together with philosopher of technology Stefan Buijsman and ethicist Prof. Jeroen van den Hoven (TU Delft). REAiHL brings together clinicians, ethicists, and data scientists to translate high-level ethical principles—such as transparency, fairness, and accountability—into practical frameworks for AI development and implementation in healthcare.

In March 2025, REAiHL was formally designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre for the Governance of AI in Health, in collaboration with TU Delft’s Digital Ethics Centre. This centre supports the World Health Organization in shaping global guidance on safe, transparent, and equitable AI use in medicine. Van Genderen co-leads the centre's clinical activities, focusing on practical tools for ethical AI deployment, including explainability, bias mitigation, and post-market surveillance.

As part of this mission, Van Genderen is also one of the driving forces behind INDICATE (Inclusive Development and Implementation of AI for Clinical Decision Making and Trust), the largest EU-endorsed initiative for responsible AI in healthcare. Funded under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL), INDICATE aims to establish a secure federated infrastructure for standardized Intensive Care data and supports healthcare institutions in building AI that is explainable, fair, and safe across diverse European settings.

Since June 2025, Van Genderen will become the founding president of TRAIN-Europe, a pan-European consortium that promotes the responsible and trustworthy implementation of AI in healthcare. TRAIN-Europe mirrors the U.S.-based TRAIN initiative and brings together hospitals, research centers, and policymakers to collaboratively assess and improve AI maturity across institutions. It provides structured guidance for readiness, adoption, and governance of AI systems, while fostering international knowledge-sharing and alignment with European norms and values.

He currently supervises 15 PhD students working on responsible AI innovation in healthcare. His additional research focuses on the use of virtual reality for post-ICU rehabilitation and improving mental recovery after critical illness.

Van Genderen is a strong advocate for AI literacy among healthcare professionals and stresses the importance of developing AI according to European ethical and legal frameworks. “To truly strengthen healthcare and operationalize AI, it must be developed responsibly.”