Rob J.P.M. Scholten is Emeritus Professor of Evidence Synthesis in Health Care at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care. From 2001 – October 2018, he was the director of The Dutch Cochrane Centre which is hosted by the Julius Center. July 1st, 2020 he officially retired.

Rob did his medical training at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and in 1993 he obtained his PhD in Clinical Epidemiology at the same university (Thesis ‘The increased incidence of meningococcal disease in the Netherlands: an attempt at an epidemiological explanation’). In 1995 he was formally registered as Clinical Epidemiologist (‘Wetenschappelijk Onderzoeker Epidemioloog’, SMBWO).

From 1993 to 2000 Rob worked as senior researcher of the research programme “Musculoskeletal disorders” of the EMGO-Institute, Amsterdam, and from 2000 to 2013 as Senior Clinical Epidemiologist at The Dutch Cochrane Centre and the department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. In 2001 he became the director of the Dutch Cochrane Centre and in 2010, he was appointed as Professor of Clinical Epidemiology in particular Evidence-based Medicine at the University of Amsterdam. In 2014, the Dutch Cochrane Centre moved to Utrecht and in 2015, Rob was appointed as professor of Evidence Synthesis in Health Care.

Rob’s research focused on three main areas: 1) Developing and refining methods for systematic reviews and meta-analysis; 2) Selective publication and selective outcome reporting; and 3) Methods to improve the interpretation and presentation of systematic review results.

Rob collaborated with various national and international researchers. With respect to the theme ‘Selective publication and selective outcome reporting’ many research projects arise from the Netherlands Trial Register (NTR), that is hosted by the Dutch Cochrane Centre since 2004. This register had been approved by the WHO as primary register. This register forms a rich source for research projects.

Rob participated actively in the international GRADE Working Group. The development of better presentation and interpretation of results of diagnostic studies and better formats for presenting those results to end-users of diagnostic reviews are one of the key activities.

• Former Editor Cochrane Diagnostic Test Accuracy Editorial Team

• Member of the following Cochrane Methods Groups: GRADEing Methods Group, Screening and Diagnostic Tests Methods Group and Statistics Methods Group

• Member (review author) of the following Cochrane Review Groups: Heart Group, Gynaecological, Neuro-oncology and Orphan Cancer Group, Back and Neck Group, Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group, Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group, Oral Health Group, Airways Group, Neuromuscular Group, Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group, Methodology Review Group, Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders Group, Common Mental Disorders Group, Upper GI and Pancreatic Diseases Group, Colorectal Group

• Member of the international GRADE Working Group and core member of the Dutch GRADE Network