{"id":6154,"date":"2015-11-10T16:08:16","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T15:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/11\/10\/dies-universiteit-eert-twee-eigenzinnige-wetenschappers\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:20","slug":"dies-universiteit-eert-twee-eigenzinnige-wetenschappers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/11\/10\/dies-universiteit-eert-twee-eigenzinnige-wetenschappers\/","title":{"rendered":"Dies: university honours two unconventional scholars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Decaan Jaap Verweij (Erasmus MC) hult zich in toga voor de Diesviering<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

On Monday 9 November Erasmus University marked its 102nd<\/sup> anniversary with a modest celebration. The honorary doctorates were awarded to two unconventional scholars.<\/p>\n

The honorary doctorates were presented to two American professors: development and healthcare economist Paul Gertler (University of California), and John Ioannidis (Stanford School of Medicine), primarily known for his international perspective and pioneering research as well as his comprehensive vision regarding research in general.<\/p>\n

Repetition is important for good research<\/h3>

In his acceptance speech Ioannidis named Erasmus as one of his heroes: \u201cHe spared no one and he wasn\u2019t persecuted or beheaded, yet he was still able to get his message across. From this I learned to be critical but gracious. And to know when it\u2019s time to make an exit\u2026\u201d
\nIoannidis, whose background is Greek, advocated for more replication and repetition of research so that the \u2018real truth\u2019 can be found. Research now, he feels, looks too much like an artistic endeavour where original research is carried out on a very small niche and this is considered more worthwhile than checking research to confirm it or disprove it, as the case may be. \u201cIf everything claimed in research turned out to be true then we would have been immortal a long time ago,\u201d said Ioannidis.<\/p>\n

Gertler critical of government policy\n<\/h3>

The other honorary doctorate was presented to Paul Gertler, an influential development and healthcare economist who received his cappa for the important societal relevance of his research results in the field of economic evaluation of the impact of financing healthcare services.<\/p>\n

In his acceptance speech he related that he has always been critical of stimulating public health through government policy. He also spoke about the extensive research he has carried out in measuring the results of government policy.<\/p>\n

He was present at the inception of an ongoing successful programme in Mexico to promote children\u2019s health. Mothers were given a sum of money that could solely be spent for purposes related to their child\u2019s health.<\/p>\n

It is unusual that this project is still running, because in Mexico there is a new president every six years, who usually favours implementing his or her own programme at the expense of continuity. Gertler played an important role here.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s honorary doctorates were granted by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (Erasmus MC and the institute of Health Policy & Management) and the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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