Author, researcher, teacher, and scholar leaves a vast legacy in neurology.
By Peter J. Koehler and Marianne de Visser
Jan van Gijn.
Prof. Jan van Gijn, a legend in the field of neurology, died on April 3, 2025, in Utrecht, the Netherlands. He was born on July 22, 1942, during World War II, in Geldermalsen. He went to medical school at the University of Leyden. After completing his studies there, he went to the Dijkzigt Hospital (now Erasmus University Medical Center) in Rotterdam to start his residency in neurology.
In 1977, he defended his thesis, “The Plantar Reflex: A Historical, Clinical, and Electromyographic Study,” with honors under the supervision of Prof. Hans van Crevel (1931-2002). He then focused his research on the manifestations, treatment, and complications of subarachnoid hemorrhage, transient ischemic attacks, and cerebral infarcts. He contributed an impressive number of publications on these topics to respected journals.
After his training, he spent one year as a clinical clerk at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, in London, United Kingdom. The hospital chair at that time was Prof. Roger W. Gilliatt (1922-1991).
In 1983, van Gijn was appointed professor of neurology in the department of neurology at the University Medical Center Utrecht, in the Netherlands. He not only had a keen eye for the patients but was also an excellent teacher and a cherished mentor. He was able to capture the zeitgeist during his leadership. He trained male and female residents alike and was proud to show a picture of himself surrounded by visibly pregnant residents on many occasions. He acknowledged the importance of training residents in clinical neurology and encouraged them to do research to stimulate scientific thinking during clinical practice.
He also developed a special interest in patients with functional neurological disorders, a group that received little attention from neurologists at the time. He advocated a holistic approach to treating these patients.
In 1991, he became visiting professor in the department of clinical neurosciences at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
From 1987 to 1999, he was active on the executive committee of the European Neurological Society (now the European Academy of Neurology), first as a board member and later as president.
From 1996 until his retirement in 2007, Prof. van Gijn was editor-in-chief of The Dutch Journal of Medicine (Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde), one of the five oldest medical journals in the world, which was first pubished in 1857. His other editorial positions included co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurology and associate editor of Brain.
After retirement, he studied Latin (earning a bachelor’s degree in 2016) followed by history and philosophy of science (earning a master’s degree in 2019) to be able to read and interpret ancient medical literature. In 2023, he published the book “Stroke: A History of Ideas.”
He received many accolades, including knighthood in the Order of the Netherlands Lion (Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw), honorary membership in the Netherlands Society of Neurology, and membership in the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He is survived by his wife, two children, and grandchildren. He will be sadly missed, but his legacy in international and Dutch neurology will live on through all the neurologists who have been inspired by him. •
Peter J. Koehler is a member of the faculty of health, medicine, and life sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and co-editor of the Journal of the History of the Neurosciences. Marianne de Visser is emeritus professor of neuromuscular diseases at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, chair of the Membership Committee of the WFN, and previous elected trustee of the WFN.
