In memoriam Prof. Dr. Michel De Roo

With great sadness we inform you of the passing away of em. Prof. Dr. Michel De Roo on 13th February 2019.

Michel De Roo was born in Leuven on 18th March 1931. In 1955 he obtained his doctorate in medicine. During his studies he came into contact with radiobiology in the context of radiation therapy and radiology.

In 1961 he obtained a degree in radiology and shortly after in radiotherapy.

Under his impulse, the use of radioactive tracers for diagnosis and therapy increased considerably, creating within the radiotherapy department a subunit of nuclear medicine that became a separate department from 1968 onwards.

Prof. dr. Michel De Roo was appointed as head of this new department and as professor at the faculty of medicine in 1977 with teaching in radiological anatomy, radiotoxicology, principles and applications of radioimmunology and the use of isotopesin vitro.

He set up the European Board of Nuclear Medicine and he trained 41 specialists in nuclear medicine.

Michel De Roo was nationally and internationally respected as one of the founding fathers of nuclear medicine in Belgium and has always worked for the development of the specialty of nuclear medicine and the harmonization of training schemes within Europe.

He was chairman of the Recognition Committee for Specialists in nuclear medicine, chairman of the Belgian Association for Nuclear Medicine, conference president of the European Congress of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) in 1995 and held various board positions in scientific societies.

After ending his career at the university, he spent his early years of retirement writing a book on the history of nuclear medicine in Europe.

He was known as a professional and passionate expert, but also as a bon vivant with a warm personality, available to his employees and a fine doctor who always sought cooperation with colleagues.

He was delighted to be able to experience the 50th anniversary of the department of nuclear medicine that he founded and led for 28 years and to find that under the direction of Prof. Dr. K. Van Laere, new and challenging research paths are being followed.

In gratitude,

the BELNUC Board