Belgian MEP Liesbet SOMMEN visits VPH Team
On 12 December 2025, the VPH Society hosted MEP Liesbet Sommen at University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven. The meeting served as a strategic dialogue on the role of Virtual Human Twins (VHTs) and AI in securing Europe’s leadership in medical technology.
Ms. Sommen, member of SANT committee on Public Health, was joined by Seppe Gallon and Senne Konings, while VPH – The Society for In Silico Medicine was represented by Executive Director Prof. Liesbet Geris and Scientific Officer Dr.Ir. Janaki Raman R.
Welcoming the delegation to the University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Prof. Geris demonstrated how Virtual Human Twins (VHTs) and Artificial Intelligence are breaking down silos within healthcare and driving integrated cross-disciplinary innovations. By integrating multi-scale and multi-organ modelling, these technologies are not only driving scientific discovery but also providing Europe with a significant competitive edge in the global medical technology landscape.
During the visit, Ms. Sommen sought to understand the specific needs and hurdles facing the scientific community. Prof. Geris highlighted several critical gaps, including:
- Data Access: The complexity of accessing individual patient data remains a primary barrier to leveraging the full potential of personalised digital twins.
- Regulatory Acceptance: There is a vital need for the regulatory acceptance of in silico modelling across the entire lifecycle of medical technologies.
- Workforce Readiness: The group discussed the importance of stakeholder alignment and the urgent need to up-skill the cross-disciplinary workforce.
In response, the VPH team showcased their ongoing efforts to re-skill professionals and empower the modelling community through their INFOKIT for stakeholder engagement.
The visit concluded with a tour of the Laboratory for Skeletal Tissue Engineering at KU Leuven. Impressed by the scientific rigor and the practical applications of digital twins, MEP Sommen noted the importance of continued dialogue between scientists and policymakers.
As the EU legislative cycle moves forward with the MDR revision, the Biotech Act, and the pharmaceutical legislation, the meeting underscored the necessity of ensuring that European policy fosters innovation while addressing the challenges of the scientific community and the entire ecosystem.
