Bas Vastert

Associate Professor - medical

Strategic program(s):

Biography

Bas is a pediatric rheumatologist in the “EULAR center of excellence in rheumatology" Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital Utrecht. Besides being an esteemed clinician in the field of Pediatric Rheumatology, he has developed into a translational researcher, with a PhD on mechanisms of disease and therapy in severe JIA in 2013. From 2015, he has been starting a translational research group together with Jorg van Loosdregt, molecular biologist. They currently supervise 5 PhD students, 1 post-doc and 2 technicians together, within the Center of Translational Immunology in Utrecht (v Loosdregt-Vastert group). Their labgroup aims to translate cutting edge science into clinical benefit for patients and their research focusses on systemic JIA and on development of novel treatment strategies for JIA. Bas is currently leading a multi-center prospective trial implementing a biomarker driven stop-strategy for rIL-1RA therapy in systemic JIA in the Netherlands (the ESTIS trial).

In addition, as a designated Young Investigator, Bas is the Dutch lead for all translational laboratory studies within UCAN CAN DU (major infrastructural research project 2017-2021 in Canada and the Netherlands).

Key words: Translational research in childhood arthritis, biology of systemic JIA, (regulation of) auto-inflammation, regulation of autoimmune inflammation, epigenetics.

Strategic program(s):

Contact

bvastert@umcutrecht.nl

Pure profile

Research groups

Translational immunology

Research aim

It is our goal to improve the diagnosis and treatment of immune-related diseases with a focus on Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

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Recent publications

All publications

Development and Qualitative Evaluation of a Decision Support Tool for Withdrawal of Biologic Therapy in Nonsystemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Janine A van Til, Michelle M A Kip, Robert Marinescu-Muster, Karin Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Gillian R Currie, Susanne M Benseler, Joost F Swart, Sebastiaan J Vastert, Nico Wulffraat, Rae S M Yeung, Deborah A Marshall, Maarten J IJzerman
MDM policy & practice, 2025, vol. 10, p.23814683251364199

Safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of the Shingrix vaccine in immunocompromised varicella zoster virus naïve pediatric patients Mohamad Hamad Saied, Noehaila El Bied, Lana Khoury, Sebastiaan J Vastert, Joost Swart, Annet van Royen, Erika van Nieuwenhove, Victorien M Wolters, Joris van Montfrans, Frans Verduyn Lunel, Sytze de Roock, Marc Jansen
Vaccine, 2025, vol. 64

When to address fatigue in juvenile idiopathic arthritis during clinical visits based on the JAMAR Anouk Vroegindeweij, S A Musterd, Sanne L Nijhof, Alessandro Consolaro, Sebastiaan J Vastert, Sytze De Roock, Joost F Swart
Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 2025, vol. 64, p.5455-5459

LIMK1 variants are associated with divergent endocrinological phenotypes and altered exocytosis dynamics Irena J.J. Muffels, Theodore Carter, Holger Rehmann, Sebastiaan J. Vastert, Annemarie A. Verrijn Stuart, Andreas C. Blank, Aurore Garde, Bert van der Zwaag, Iris M. De Lange, Jacques C. Giltay, Koen L.I. van Gassen, Klaas Koop, Cedric S. Asensio, Peter M. van Hasselt
iScience, 2025, vol. 28

Unmet needs and research gaps in Still's disease across ages Claudia Bracaglia, Francesca Minoia, Sebastiaan J Vastert, Christoph Kessel, Lorenzo Dagna, Angelo Ravelli, Fabrizio De Benedetti
Pediatric rheumatology online journal, 2025, vol. 23

Nicotinamide Inhibits CD4+ T-Cell Activation and Function Lotte Nijhuis, Alejandra Bodelόn, Rianne C Scholman, Isabelle Houtzager, Lyanne J P M Sijbers, Enric Mocholi, Lucas W Picavet, Jorg J A Calis, Michal Mokry, Sebastiaan J Vastert, Jorg van Loosdregt
Cells, 2025, vol. 14

Fellowships & Awards

- 2007: Young investigator Meeting, Pediatric rheumatology European Society: Award for best basic abstract .

- 2014: Wilhelmina Research Fund (co-applicant), € 150 000 : Dissecting the complex role of S100-proteins in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

- 2015: ZonMW Rational Pharmacotherapy grant, € 340 000 : Biomarker guided treatment and stop strategy for rIL-1RA therapy in systemic JIA.

- 2016-2019: Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis Fonds, Rosenberg foundation / Vrienden WKZ (€340 000): Modulation of Treg in JIA by Nicotinamide. Principal Investigator, no overlap.

- 2016-2021: ZonMW grant, Rational Pharmacotherapy for implementation of biomarker guided tapering strategy of rIL-1RA in systemic JIA (€340 000 + €190 000 contribution Sobi). Principal Investigator, clinical trial, no overlap.

- 2017-2021: UCAN CAN DU: (8,0 mln Can$). Canada – Netherlands Personalized Medicine Network in Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatic diseases. Young Investigator, NL lead for laboratory studies within UCAN CAN DU. (PI: R. Yeung, NM Wulffraat, co-PI JF Swart, S. Benseler).