Dirkje (Sjoukje) Postma (born 1951 in

Nij Beets Nij Beets ( nl, Nieuw Beets) is a village in the municipality of Opsterland in the east of Friesland in the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,705 in January 2017. History Nij Beets was founded in 1863 by peat workers. The peat workers ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) is

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

at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 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 in ...

and the

University Medical Center Groningen The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG, nl, Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen), formerly Groningen University Hospital, is the main hospital in Groningen, Netherlands. The medical centre is affiliated with the University of Groninge ...

. She focused her research career on

asthma Asthma is a 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 wheezing, cou ...

and

COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce mu ...

. Postma is a member of the

Health Council of the Netherlands The Health Council of the Netherlands or the Dutch Health Council ( nl, Gezondheidsraad) 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 medic ...

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 o ...

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 a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

s are nowadays used to mitigate the symptoms of asthma. Her research has been beneficial to millions of people suffering from resporatory 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 blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

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 ( nl, Spinozapremie) is an annual award of 2.5 million euro, 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 ...

, 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 ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

. 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 The organization was founded in 1904 to figh ...

. 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 Euro ...

. 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 , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

and

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion 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 pulmonologists