Chantal Mathieu is Professor of Medicine at the University of Leuven, Belgium and Program Director of Biomedical Sciences. She earned her MD at KU Leuven and trained there in internal medicine and endocrinology. Dr Mathieu has authored or co-authored more than 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals and was an Associate editor and Advisor for Diabetologia. She is a member of the Research Council of Flanders and is a member of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, the American Diabetes Association, IDS and former President of the Flemish Diabetes Association. Dr Mathieu’s basic research interest is in prevention of Type 1 diabetes and non-classical effects of Vitamin D. Clinically, she is Head of Endocrinology at KUL University Hospital Gasthuisberg and is involved in organisation of clinical diabetes care on a national and international level.